Hey Brother
by UnchartedFreaks
Summary: Just a bunch of short stories of different situations the Drakes go through. Rated T for later chapters. *UPDATE* I will be publishing U4 one-shots but I have only gotten to chapter 13 so no spoilers for U4 please!
1. Christmas out on the streets

Nat pov..

It is Christmas Eve in Denver, Colorado. It was Nate and I's first Christmas out on the streets. It's been hard, having to steal just to stay alive but it beats being abused or the fear of being separated. I've saved up some money the generous people give us as they go on about their normal day. It may only be change but money is money and we're grateful for what we do get. My gloves are tattered and my coat is wearing thin but I just don't have enough money this year. I've seen how Nate's been eyeing this leather bound journal in the window of a family owned bookstore nearby. They have gave us the most change since we've been here and I thought it would be nice to spend it there. I exhaled into my hands and warmed them and my face up.

The giant TV in the furniture store says it's been the coldest this state has been in years. I walk into the bookstore.

"Why, hello there Natalie!" Tim, the owner, says as he places a book onto the shelf.

"Hello. It sure is cold out there." I say as I smile.

He laughs.

"You want some hot chocolate?" he asks.

"Please." I say.

He goes to the back room and comes back with a hot, steaming mug.

"Thank you so much!" I say as I feel the cup warm my hands.

I take a slow sip and feel the warmness rush through my body.

"So, what brings you into my humble shop?" he says.

"How much is that journal in the window front?" I ask, pointing.

"Fifteen dollars." he says.

I frown. So much for that idea. He must have noticed.

"How much you got?" he asks.

I pull the bag of change out of my messenger bag.

"Ten flat." I say sadly.

"Is it for yourself?" he asks.

" 's for Nathan. He looked at it every time we past your shop. That's why I saved up all this money." I say.

"Tell you what, I'll drop the price to five. Just for you." he says.

I smile brightly.

"Really?!"

He smiles.

"Everyone should be happy on Christmas." he says.

"Thank you so much! My brother and I owe you for all that you have done for us!" I say.

He holds a hand up.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine." He goes over to the window.

He takes the journal and I follow him over to the counter.

I hand him the change and he gives me a five dollar bill.

"Want me to wrap it? Free of charge." he says.

I nod as he wraps it up in blue and white snowflake paper. I take the present, give my thanks and head back to the bridge Nate and I chose to make our home.

We have a fire, some cardboard to sleep on, and some can food we stole from the store. Plus, we found a crooked, plastic Christmas tree by the dumpster.

Nate pov..

I started heading down the empty street to the bookstore that Tim owns. He's a nice man. Helps us get by when times get tough. I look in the window and I noticed the journal was gone.

"Oh, crap." I mumble as I open the door and head inside.

The warm air felt nice on this cold night.

"Hello, Nate. How are you doing?" Tim asks.

I nod. "Good, thanks. You sold that journal?" I ask, glancing over.

He nods.

"Yeah. I noticed how you would look at it every time you and your sister pasted my shop. Sorry." he says.

"Yeah. It seemed like a good present for Natalie." I say as I look down and put my hand on my bag.

Nat's got one that matches mine. We pinched them off at a craft show not so long ago.

"I think I've got another one of those journals in the back." he says.

I look up at him.

"How much is it?" I ask

. "Normally around fifteen, but since it's for your sister I'll lower it down to five." he says.

I smile.

"Thanks."I say gratefully.

He starts smirking. What's his idea?

"Want me to wrap it?" he asks.

I nod. He wrapped it in blue and white snowflake paper. I gave my thanks and headed back to the bridge.

Nat Pov

I walked under the bridge just to see Nate coming in on the other side. I hid the present behind my back to see Nate do the same. I wondered what it was but I was to focused on turning around and putting my present in my jacket as Nate went to heat up the cans of beans in an old pot we found. After we eat half a can of beans, we moved the cardboard by the fire. Not to close for it to be a fire danger, but not so far that we wouldn't get warm. I laid down and felt the present lying against my chest. I watched the fire dance and I looked over to see Nate fast asleep. I creep up and place my present under the tree. I head back over and try snuggling down into my filthy jacket to get warm.

Nate pov..

I awoke to hearing the fire crackle. I noticed that the fire was slowly dying. I got up and placed some firewood into the flames and watched as the flames returned to life. I warmed my hands and glanced under the tree and I noticed a present. I felt in my jacket pocket. My present was still in there. I took it out and placed it under the tree next to the other one. I glance over at Natalie. She was fast asleep, hair falling over one eye. I smile as I go back to lay down. I close my eyes and drift back to sleep.

Nat pov

The light of the rising sun made my eyes flutter open. I sat up and glanced over at the tree to see if my present was still there. It was but I noticed a matching one was beside it. I rubbed my eyes with my gloved hands to make sure my sight wasn't messed up. It better not couldn't afford glasses. I removed my hands only to still see a matching one.

"Morning." Nate says as I stand.

"Morning. Sleep well?" I ask as I go sit by the fire.

He nods as he hands me my half-can of beans. I take a bite.

"When we gonna open presents?" I asked.

He shrugs.

"Whenever." he says as he sits beside me.

After we eat, we exchanged gifts. We tore open the paper and we looked up at each other in awe. We got each other the same thing, the journal from Tim's shop.

"How much was yours?" I ask.

"Five. Yours?" Nate replied.

I smirked.

"Five." I say.

"The same paper, same journal, same price! Nate, he knew!" I say.

Nate laughed.

"That sneaky devil!"

We sat the paper aside. It would make good fire starter tonight.

We place the journals in out bags as we stand. Nate hugs me.

"Merry Christmas, Natalie." he says.

I hug him back.

"Merry Christmas, Nathan." I say as we head back out onto the street.

We finally got some actual money, now we just got to see if anything's open.


	2. Prank War

It started out as a normal Saturday in our house in Topeka, Kansas. Sully left for a few days because he had a client that apparently didn't want 'kids' on the job. We're almost 18, for crying out loud! I had been walking up the driveway, mail in hand. I walked through the door only to have freezing cold water come splashing onto me. I stood there in shock, hair matted to my head, clothes stuck to my skin and the now ruined mail in my hands. Lucky, it was nothing but junk. I saw Nate doubled over, laughing.

"You should have seen you're face, Natty! Priceless!" He says as he continues to laugh.

I narrowed my eyes and growled. I stomped over to him.

"What is wrong with you?!" I yelled, throwing the mail down on the dresser next to us.

Nate stopped laughing.

"Nat, it was just a prank." He says innocently. I smiled coldly.

"You're right. Now, It's a war." I say.

Nate spins around and takes off. I laugh and head to my room. I dried my hair and changed clothes. I slowly opened the door and peaked out. I saw that Nate had a plate of food on the kitchen table. He was pouring himself something to drink, his back towards me. I spotted a salt shaker. I smirked to myself as a plan worked itself into my mind. I crouched down and slowly made my way to the table. I reached my hand out and grabbed the salt. I slowly screwed the top loose. I backed away to my room door. Nate turned around.

"Alright, time to eat!" he says as he sits down with his drink.

He grabbed the salt and tipped it gently. The lid came off and salt poured all over his plate. His face twisted in anger.

"Natalie Lynn Drake!" He yelled.

I laughed as I ducked into my room and locked the door.

Nate pov.

That girl, I swear! If she wants a war, it's a war she shall have! I need ideas, though. Let's see, she's not scared of any bugs. I smiled to myself. We both share the same fear. Clowns. It wouldn't work though. Natalie's smart. She knows that I would use that against her and she would be prepared. I smile. We got some of that clear plastic wrap and I've seen some funny things you can do with it. I got it and retrieved some duck tape. Watch out, sister.

Nat pov..

I laughed as I shut the door. I know that Nate will want revenge and I know the one thing I cannot use. Clowns. We share that fear, he'll be expecting me to use it. I need to think. I chuckle. We got a bag of flour in the kitchen. If i cut the top and place it correctly, it wold work. Revenge for the bucket of water. I chuckle. I'm glad Sully isn't here. The house is about to become a war zone. I went out into the hall and looked at Nate's door. The bag could fit right above it. When he opened it, it would fall. I smirk as I stand on my toes and quietly place the bag. I made a noise that sounded like I fell. "

Ow! Nate, I think I hurt my ankle!" I say, pretending to be hurt.

I heard Nate jump out of bed and throw the door open. White smoke covered us. I coughed and waved the smoke out of my face. I saw that Nathan was covered head to toe. He glared at me and ran towards me. I raced for the bathroom door but trip over something. I jumped back up and glared daggers at Nathan. He started laughing until I charged at him and he retreated to the kitchen. I cornered him near the sink when he turn it on and pointed the faucet at me. I covered my face with my hands as water shot at me.

"Dammit, Nathan!" I yelled as I blindly reached for the handle.

I managed to break it away from Nate's hands and sprayed it at him. Some of the flour washed away, but he was still covered. He grabbed some of the salt-covered food from earlier and chucked it at me. It hit me in the stomach.

"Hmph!" I said as I clutched my stomach.

He wrestled it from my hands and proceeded to put me in a choke hold. "Let. Go. Nathan!" I say as I struggle to get away.

"What the hell is going on?!" A rough voice shouted.

We let go of each other and stood straight.

A pissed off Sullivan stared at us. Nate dropped the faucet.

"Oh, crap." We say.

Sully Pov.

I stood there,fuming at the soaked twins. I glanced around the house. A plate covered in salt was on the table, the food on the floor and a stain on Natalie's shirt. Water and flour was everywhere, broken plastic wrap and duck tape in the hall. I looked down to see a bucket next to me along with soaked carpet. I looked at the twins, who shrank their bodies down in submission as I glared.

"Oh! Welcome home, Sully!" Nate stuttered.

"We missed you!" Nat added sweetly.

"What the hell is this?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"Well, Nate pranked me then I pranked him and...it sorta got outta hand." Nat said.

"Sorta?! It sorta got out of hand?!" I yelled.

Nat pov..

Nate and I flinched and stepped back.

"We're sorry. Really. " Nate says as we back up.

Sully sighed. "Just clean this mess up. It's been a long three days." he says as he walks to his room.

Nate and I looked at each other and then looked around the destroyed house.

"Let's get to work." Nate says as he grabs the mop and I go get the bucket and fill it up with water.

I sighed. It's gonna be a while before Sully forgives us on this one. I can feel it.


	3. First Encounter

I stared at the two children who picked my pocket and stole my wallet. They continued to try and escape my grasp as I observed the duo. Their resemblance was remarkable. They've got to be twins.

"Let's try that again." I say, tilting my head.

"Let go of us!" The boy says as they tried to pull their arms away again.

"Ah, that's what I thought. Now don't try to run." I say as I let go of them.

The boy gently put his sister behind him and both pairs of blue/grey eyes watched me carefully. They seem to be very protective of each other.

"You're a long way from home, children." I say as they rub the spot on their arms where I held them.

They scoffed.

"Don't call us that." They both snap at me. Yep, their twins alright.

"Parents must be worried about you two." I say, trying to at least get some information of the two teens in front of me.

The girl gave a laugh.

"Yeah, not likely." She states bitterly.

"Okay, sore subject. " I say.

"That was a nice lift back there. You two are pretty good." I say, changing the topic to the matter at hand.

The two glance at each other before focusing their attention back to me.

"We don't know what you're talking about, old man." The boy says defensively.

"Hey. Don't call me that." I say, reciting what the two told me a moment ago.

"Your techniques are sloppy though, you two are telegraphing all of your moves." I inform them.

The twins looked at me and backed away from me.

"You're crazy." They say as they start walking around me.

I followed their movement with my own.

"Yeah? You two have been tailing me all over town." I say, letting them know that I've had my eyes on them for as long as they've had theirs on me.

The two work as a team, neither one the leader.

"Probably figured me for an easy mark." I say as we all stop moving.

"But you picked the wrong guy, pals." I say as they turn their heads and looked down the empty street and began to back away.

"Ah-ah." I warn.

"What?" the boy snaps.

"My wallet." I say sternly, holding my hand out.

The two put their hands on their hips defiantly.

"Fine, maybe we'll just call the police." I threaten, seeing if that would scare the two enough into returning my wallet.

They just gave two crooked smirks.

"Go ahead." The girl says.

"Course, They might wonder why a middle aged tourist is following boys and girls down alleyways." she said as they walked closer to me, crossing their arms.

I laughed.

"You two are crafty little beggars, aren't you?" I asked them.

"We know how to take care of ourselves." They said.

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure _you _don't like the cops any more than _we_ do." the boy counters.

I pondered over his words for a moment.

"Good point." I say.

They stretched out their arms, palms out, as if to show their point, and turned to try walking off again.

"Kids." I said, holding my arm out once again.

They turned their bodies sideways and looked at me.

"The wallet." I say.

They laughed as they shook their heads. The boy took it out of his bag and he threw it to me.

"Had to try." the girl shrugged. The boy held his hand out, the girl took it, and they ran off.

"Course you two did." I whispered. I smiled and shook my head, thinking I would never see them again.


	4. Flirting at the Festival

In my stories, there are two of Sir Francis Drake's rings. Nathan and Natalie both have one. Anyway, on with the story!

* * *

"Kids, what's going on out there?" Sully asks as he peers out our motel window.

We walked over and peer our heads out. We smile.

"It's Cartagena's annual summer festival! It's really cool!" I say, smiling brightly.

He chuckled.

"Sounds like you two have been there before." He stated.

Nate nodded.

"Best time to sneak food into our pockets. People are too busy listening to the bands or looking at shops in the market." He says.

Sully kept quiet for a moment.

"You two wanna go?" He asks.

We nod.

"Sure!" We say as we put our shoes on and exited the motel.

We walked down the street where the loud music boomed.

"Wait, we can just walk in? Just like that?" Sully asks us.

We laugh.

"Uh, yeah. How else did you think we got in?" I mock.

He laughed as we walked into the busy streets.

We finally got to play some of the fair games we have wanted to play and bought a few items from the craft shops. During all of this, Sully was flirting with every woman he could talk to. Nate and I would roll our eyes or shake our heads at every cheesy pick up line or every over-exaggerated compliment he made. Some women played along while others huffed and walked off. One woman slapped him when he thought he had said something nice to her in Spanish when he had actually called her a fat, ugly cow. Nate and I had laughed over that one for at least five whole minutes.

"You defiantly need to work on your Spanish, Sully!" Nate said as we continued to laugh.

He ruffled our hair. That's when he noticed a woman smiling at him. He gave her a grin back and waved at her. She shyly waved back.

"C'mon, Sully! Haven't you failed enough already?" Nate said as Sully walked towards her.

"Guess not." I say as we stand and watched the two adults.

We figured that the conversation wouldn't last more than ten minutes but this time it was different. The woman kept giggling and Sully kept on playing his game.

"For the love of.." We say as we roll our eyes.

We approached Sully.

"Sully, are you ready to go yet?" I ask.

He held up a hand.

"Just a few more minutes, kids." He says, not even looking at us.

The woman turned her eyes to us. No. Please, no.

"Are these two yours?" she asks sweetly.

We had been so luck to not have been dragged into this situation until now. Nate and I looked at each other than to Sully. He looked at us puzzled then he smiled as he put his arms around us.

"Yeah! This is my son Nathan and my daughter Natalie. Kids, say hello to Maria." He says kindly to us.

We glanced from the woman to Sully, We looked at her.

"Trust me, you don't want him." I joked.

"Yeah, he's way out of your league." Nate agreed.

"Oh, is he now?" She playfully says.

We nod. Sully laughed and patted us on the head.

"Oh, you two are so funny!" he says as he gives a fake laugh.

She looked at him, smiling.

"I should be going home now. You and your children have fun at the festival, Victor." She says as she walks past him.

He turns his head back to her one last time before looking back at us.

We pretended to fiddle with our rings as Sully looked at us. We looked up and gave a sly smirk.

"What?" Nate asked innocently "

You two think you're funny, don't ya ?" He laughs at us.

"Let me correct something, all of the women you've talked to today have been out of your league." I say as we chuckled.

"It looks that way, huh?" he says as we began to walk back to our hotel room.

"I'm sure they'll be more women you can flirt with." I say, waving my hand.

He scoffed.

"How would you know that?" He asks, lighting a cigar.

Nate turned his head towards him.

"You're an old dog! Always barking up the wrong tree!" Nate laughed.

We continued to laugh and talk for the rest of the day.


	5. Snow Day

.Nat pov..

"Nate! Nate, wake up!" I yell, shaking him.

"Ugh. Five more minutes, Natty!" Nate says as he puts the pillow over his head.

I grab the pillow and throw it to the other side of the room. He looks at me.

"Really?" he asks in disbelief.

I cross my arms.

"Fine, fine. What is so important that you had to wake me up at the break of dawn?" he asks.

I go to the window and pull the curtains back. Snow was falling heavily on to the already snow covered ground.

"Whoa!" Nate says as he climbs out of bed and rushes to the window.

"Let's go tell Sully!" I say as we rushed into Sully's bedroom.

We stopped dead in our tracks and covered our ears as Sully was snoring loudly.

"Sully, wake up! It's snowing!" Nate whispers.

He kept snoring. I slap his shoulder gently. He woke with a start.

"Kids? What the hell?" he says as he rubs his eyes.

We point to the window.

"It's snowing!" we both say.

"And?" he asks.

We put our arms down and I lowered my head.

"Nothing. Never mind." I say.

He looks at us, puzzled.

"You two have never seen snow?" he asks.

We shake our heads.

"Maybe once or twice " Nate says.

He gets out of the bed.

"Your coats are in your closet and your sleds are under your beds." he says.

"Are you coming?" I ask.

He nods.

"Go get ready."

We nod and race to our room. I pull out my light blue and white toboggan, gloves, and thick jacket. I put my socks and snow boots on.

Nate put on his black toboggan, his black gloves and brown jacket. He put his socks and boots on as well. I got my green sled and Nate got his blue one.

"How deep do you think the snow is?" I ask.

Nate picked up the ruler.

"Let's find out." he says.

We step out of the warm house. We carefully made our way down the steps of our porch and into the frozen yard. We put the ruler in the ground. Our eyes went wide.

"Twenty inches?!" we say in shock.

Sully stepped out onto the porch and he leaned against the house.

"That much, huh?" He asks as he leans against the door frame.

He had on a light winter jacket, a cup of coffee, boots, and of course he had a cigar.

"Won't you get cold?" I ask, heading back to the porch steps.

He waves his hand.

"Nah. You and your brother go have some fun." he says.

"Hey, Natty! Wanna build a snowman?" Nate asks.

"Yeah!" I say as I run to Nate.

We started rolling snow into a giant ball, and then made a medium sized one, and finally, a small one. We found some rocks and made eyes and a mouth. Sully gave us a baby carrot to use as a nose and a Santa hat to put on his head. We broke some branches off of a dead tree in the woods behind the house. We placed them into the snowman.

"We can name in Sully!" Nate says.

I nod.

"Then he needs one more thing.." I say as I break off some sticks and tied them together to look like a cigar.

I place it on the snowman. Nate and I began to laugh. Sully came over to see what we was laughing about. He looked at the snowman and chuckled.

"Not bad, kids. Not bad." he says as he heads back to the porch.

I lay down in the snow.

"What are you doing? You're gonna get sick." Nate said, slightly concerned.

"I'm making a snow angel!" I say as I move my legs side to side and my arms up and down.

I carefully stand. I looked down at it and smile.

"Nice." Nate says.

He grabs his sled.

"Up for a race?" he asks.

I nod as I grab my sled. We run to the top of the hill.

"I'll be the judge!" Sully calls out to us.

We give a thumbs up.

"Ready...set...go!" Sully yells.

We went flying down the hill. I would have won, if my sled hadn't hit something and went nose up.

My body smacked into the snow as the sled went over my head.

"Natalie!" Nate screams as I hear footsteps rush towards me.

"Natalie?! Are you alright?!" he asks as he helps me up.

I nod.

"No more racing." Nate says as he grabs the sleds.

"Agreed." I nod.

I watched Nate as he put the sleds on the porch and explained what happened to Sully. I looked out at the neighborhood. I took in a breath of the cold air and watched as my breath looked like smoke. "

What next?" I ask as I turn to face Nate.

Instead of seeing his face, a snowball blinded me. I wipe the snow away from my eyes and saw that Nate had took off running. I smile mischievously.

"It's on, Nathan!" I yell as I chase him.

I stop only to quickly make a snowball and chuck it at him. It hits him square in the back.

Sully began to laugh. We look at each other than to Sully.

"Truce?" Nate asks, holding out his hand.

"Truce." I agree, shaking it.

We each make a snowball and throw them. They both hit their target, Sully. He stops laughing and walks forward.

"You really want to do this, kids?" he asks us.

We smile nervously, already regretting our decision. Sully runs down the steps and we blast off, Sully right on our heels. We scream as Sully finally caught up with us and we were tackled to the ground. We kept on laughing until we started to cry. Sully helps us up as Nate tries to re-adjust his hat and I brush my hair out of my eyes. We were all covered in snow.

"How about we go in, get out of these soaked clothes, and have ourselves a hot meal?" Sully asks.

We nod as we kick our boots against the porch side to try to get any loose snow off. We take them off and place them near the door. We entered our bedroom and prepared to change. I stayed in the room to change while Nate went into the bathroom. I chose my purple shirt and my black pants I put on some black, fuzzy, socks to keep my feet warm and put the ring around my neck. I look into the mirror.

"Greatness from small beginnings, alright." I said as I brush my hair.

Once I put my winter gear near the heater to dry, I headed back into the living room. I looked to see that Nate was already in there. He had his ring on as well as a plain brown shirt and black pants.

"Want some soup and hot chocolate Nat?" Sully asks.

"Please." I say.

Sully put a warm bowl of soup on the table and placed a steaming mug next to it.

"We need to do that again." I say as I carefully put the spoon into my mouth.

Sully chuckled.

"With this much snow, I guarantee we'll have plenty of time to go play in the snow again." Nate says.

Sully joined us at the table as we continued to talk about the snow day.

"Just no more sledding, okay?" I say as Nate and Sully laughed.


	6. Surrendered to the State

"Daddy, where are we going?" I ask.

Dad had been on the phone for a while, pacing around the kitchen and running his fingers through his hair.

"Just go pack your bags." He says to us, already annoyed from being on the phone for so long.

"Why?" Nate asked.

"Dammit, just do it!" he yells.

We jump and scramble to our room. Dad had always hit us, but he had hit mommy more. One day, she left and never came back. The nice policemen told us that she had went to a place called heaven. She had told us that she would get us out of here, but she lied. She only got herself out.

I put the suitcase and tossed it onto my bed I pack some clothes and zipped it up. One hand grabbed the handle while the other grabbed my little, stuffed bear named Teddy. I looked towards Nate.

"Where do you think he's taking us?" I ask him.

Nate shrugged.

"I don't know, but we need to go before we get into trouble." Nate suggests as I nod.

We drugged our bags back into the living room. Dad grabbed his keys.

"Go get in the car." Dad says bitterly.

We give a quick nod and race for the car. We open the backseats and jump into our car seats. We put our suitcases in the floorboard as Dad got into the driver's seat.

"You two ask any questions and I swear I will pop you right on the lips, do I make myself clear?" he says.

We remained silent.

"Do I?!" he barks.

"Yes sir!" Nate and I say in fear.

I clutch Teddy close to my chest.

Dad pulled into a building and parked.

"Come on." He says as we open the car doors and slide out.

We grab our bags and follow Dad to the building. It was a room with many chairs and there was a woman at the desk. Dad walked up to the lady and we followed behind him. The two adults began to whisper to one another. They would glance at us every once in a while but they mostly ignored us. The woman pulled out a clipboard with many papers attached to it.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asks Dad.

Nate and I looked at Dad. He scoffed.

"If I wasn't, would I be here?" he snapped.

The woman glared at him. He sat down and began writing. I looked at the dark-haired lady.

"What's Daddy doing?" I ask her.

She sadly looked at us. Once Dad got done, he stood up. He handed the woman the papers and started heading for the door. We took a couple steps forward before Dad turned to us.

"No, stay." He ordered, like he was telling a doggy.

"Don't you at least want to say goodbye?" the woman asked.

Dad looked at her.

"I guess." He says as he looks down at us.

"Bye." He says as he turns back around and heads for the door.

"Daddy?" we ask. He ignores us as he opens the main door.

"Daddy!" we yell as we began to cry.

He shut the door and went to his car. He backed up and sped out of the parking lot, leaving Nate and I sobbing.

"Oh, come here." The woman says as she picked us up.

We put our heads in her shoulder as we cry loudly.

"Shh, it's okay. It's alright, little ones." She says softly.

She put us on the big couch and we huddle together.

"What's gonna happen to us now?" Nate sniffs.

The lady looks at us.

"Let me go make a call, okay? You two stay right here." She says.

She walks over to the desk and dials a number.

"Yes, I need to speak to the headmistress immediately. What do you mean she's busy?! I have two orphans here in my office! Okay, I'll hold." She says, tapping her fingers.

"Why? Why did he leave us? Why did Mom leave us?" I say, heartbroken.

Nate pulls me close.

"It doesn't matter. As long as I got you, I'll be fine." He says to me.

I nod as I hug him.

"Same here." I say.

A few minutes passed before a young woman in a black dress and hood approached.

"Is this the twins you spoke to the headmistress over the phone?" she asked nicely.

The woman nodded.

"Yes, this is them." She says as she turned to us.

"Children, this is Sister Alexis." She says, pointing the woman.

"Sister Alexis, this is Nathan and Natalie Grant." she says as she turns her head to the woman.

"Get your bags, children." Sister Alexis says to us.

"Where are you taking us?" Nate asks.

"Saint Francis Children's Home." She says as she picks up our bags.

We looked at each other before following her out the door and to the orphanage.


	7. Storm

I jumped as another roll of thunder shook the house. I looked up as the lights flickered. I sighed.

"We better not lose power." I say as I turn to Nate.

"Tell me about it. As much research we have to do…" Nate says, looking up from his book.

I peered out the window. Rain was pouring down as lighting lit up the night sky. I frowned.

"Looks like it's getting worse." I mumble.

Sully came through the door, bags in hand.

"That's the last goddamn time I go out in this weather." He states as he puts the bags on the counter and takes off his soaked jacket.

We snickered.

"What's the matter, old man? The rain put out one of your cigars?" Nate mocked as I laughed.

Sully opened his mouth to make a smart comeback when we were all blinded by a bright light. When it cleared, there was complete darkness.

"Ah, crap!" Nate and I say.

I carefully made my way into the living room and felt for the drawer. Once I found the handle, I pulled it open and felt around for a flashlight.

"Here we go." I say as I picked it up and flipped the switch.

I walked back to where Nate and Sully stood.

"Alright, now what?" I ask.

"There are some oil lamps and a couple of lanterns in the closet." Sully states.

"I'll get them." Nate says as we walk to it and swing the door open.

After searching through a couple of cardboard boxes, we found what we were looking for. We removed the old newspaper articles that had been wrapped out them and put them around the house. Sully took out his lighter and went around lighting them all up. We all sat around the coffee table in the living room.

"So…" I say awkwardly.

"What you two wanna do?" Sully asks.

Nate shrugs.

"I don't know. Nat and I can't do research in the dark, even with the lamps!" Nate says.

I nod in agreement. Sully chuckles.

"Research isn't everything, kids." Sully says.

We take out our battery powered radio and turn it on. I moved the dials around until the static turned into talking.

"-a severe thunderstorm warning is in effect until midnight tonight. People should seek shelter, stay away from windows and doors, and stay off the roads." The meteorologist was saying.

We all glanced at each other.

"Anyone hungry? I think we got some chips and crackers in the kitchen." Nate says.

I nod.

"I'll go get them." I say, getting up off the floor.

I casually walked into the kitchen and grabbed the junk food. As I closed the cabinet door, thunder boomed and lighting flashed. I jumped back in shock. "

Holy crap!" I breathe as I grab the snacks and hurried back into the living room and put the stuff on the table.

I crossed my legs and rested my back against the couch.

'What now?" Nate asked with his mouth full of chips.

I rolled my eyes at Nate. Sully looked at him.

"Nate, don't talk with your mouth full." He says, pointing a finger at him.

"Oh, he got you, Nathan!" I say, laughing.

Sully turned to me and gave me a warning glance. I gave him a crooked grin and raised my hands in mock surrender. Sully laughed.

"Hey, I think we got some board games in there!" Nate says, his mouth clear of food.

Sully raised an eyebrow.

"Any objections?" he asks.

We shake our heads and Sully gets the games out from below the useless TV. We played game after game, radio blaring music. Eventually, our power was returned. Sully looked up from the board.

"Power's back. I guess you two will wanna continue reading your books." Sully says as he grabs the box.

We looked from the piles of papers and books to the game.

"Nah, we're good." We say.

I picked up the dice.

"My turn!" I say, shaking the dice.


	8. Sacrifice

We all do crazy things for the ones we love, sometimes it comes at a great cost. Had a sad dream a couple of nights ago and I thought I would try and put it words. Let me know what you think!

* * *

Nate pov..

We were at a old temple, hunting for an ancient artifact our current client wanted. Turns out, the mercenaries that were hired to find the same treasure didn't like company. Sully got separated from us and we were currently firing at the men while trying to find him. My pistol clicked, meaning I was out of ammo.

"Crap.." I say.

I heard a man chuckle beside me. I turned my head. A man had is own pistol aimed at me two feet away.

"Goodbye, Nathan Drake." he says as he gets ready to pull the trigger.

I close my eyes and wait for the bullet to hit its mark. I hear the gun fire but I feel no pain. I open my eyes to see Nat's arms spread in front of me and she fell. I caught her under her arms and lowered her down. The man looked shocked and ran away. I put Nat's head on my arm and had my other arm under her waist. She had a bullet wound right in her stomach. I quickly applied pressure to her wound.

"H-had to save your ass, once again." she says.

"Natty..." I sat softly.

She coughed.

"Like I told you, I would do anything for you. Even take a bullet if only you stayed alive." she says.

"No, don't talk like that! You'll be alright, I promise! If we just get you to a hospital..." I drawl.

She laughed slightly and patted my cheek.

"Nathan, you and I both know that we're a long way from any civilization." she said quietly.

"We have to try!" I say as I prepare to stand.

"Nate, no." she says as she grabs my arm. She looked at me. dead in the eyes.

"Just stay here with me. I don't want to die alone." she says as she looked around.

"Not a bad place to die, huh? Quite comfortable." she joked as she coughed once more.

I laughed slightly.

"You're insane, you know that?" I say.

She smiled as her eyes began to droop.

"No, no! You can't leave me here alone! I don't know what I'll do without you!" I pled.

"Please, stay!" I beg.

She put her hand on my face.

"You'll be fine, Nathan. You've always been the stronger one..." she says as her eyes close.

Her hand fell from my face and smacked against the bloody tiles, and her head turns sideways. resting against my forearm.

I tried to hold it all in, but I scream in fury and sorrow.

"No! God, no! Please, Natalie! Come back! Please, come back!" I scream, shaking her.

"Kids?" I hear Sully yell.

"What in- oh, God." Sully says as he runs over.

I gently lay her body down on the ground, my tears landing on her forehead.

"Nate, we have to go." Sully says gently.

I scowl in anger.

"Go?! For what?! Treasure?! My sister's dead because of this! Because of me! It's all my fault, goddammit!" I scream, standing and pacing around.

I ran a shaky hand through my hair. This is just a bad dream. It has to be.

"Let's just get outta here, kid." Sully says as he puts his hand on my shoulder.

I slowly make my way over and pick up Natalie's lifeless body. We walked out of the temple.

A few days later... 3rd person pov..

Nathan Drake walked towards the end of a cliff where a white cross was.

"Hey, Natty." he says as he places one of Sir Francis Drake's rings on the cross.

"Sorry, it took so long to give this back to you. Had a few things to take care of." He says. looking down.

"I thought you would like to be buried here. You always said you wanted to be somewhere pretty and peaceful." he says as he sniffs the ocean air and looks out onto the sunset.

"Doesn't get any better than this, huh?' He bends down.

"Everyone misses you." he says as he holds back tears.

He sighs.

"Ever since you died, it feels like a part of me did. In a way, I guess it has. You were my other half, my better half. You would always seek reason while I would be ready to hit it head on." He falls to his knees and puts his head on the cross, unaware of a figure behind him.

"God, I miss you so much. Even in a crowd, I still feel so alone." he whispers.

A translucent hand lands on his shoulder and his body tenses. He lifts his head and slowly put his own hand right above the other one. A ghostly whisper is heard.

"I promised I would never leave you alone, remember? Never." she says.

Nathan smirks.


	9. Two little runaways

I put them at the age of 10 here. Let me know what you think!

* * *

"Nathan, Natalie!" A nun called for us.

We looked at each other in confusion before walking over to Sister Amanda, who was standing next to a young couple.

"This is Mary and Jack Wilson." she introduced as she turned to them.

"You wanted to adopt them?" she asked sweetly.

Nate and I looked at them, shocked.

"Just the girl." the man, Jack, said.

"What?! No! I ain't going!" I say in horror.

"Natalie!" Sister Amanda scolded.

"No,no. It's alright. We'll pick her up tomorrow. Give her time to say her goodbyes." Mary said as I turned and ran.

"Nat!" Nate yelled as I rushed up the stairs.

I stormed into our room, slammed the door closed, and ran to my bed. I put my knees up to my chest, back against the wall, and started to sob. I soon heard a knock at the door.

"Leave me alone!" I snap, wiping my nose with my hand.

"Nat, it's me." Nate's voice said through the door.

I climbed out of the bed and cracked the door open. Nate entered and shut the door behind him. He hugged me tight.

"It's alright, Natalie." he says softly as I push him away.

"No, it's not alright! We're gonna be separated! You'll be stuck in this hellhole while I'm with complete strangers!" I scream at him, tears flowing down my cheeks once again.

Nate looked down. I turned around and wiped my eyes and nose.

"We could leave, if you wanted to." Nate says quietly.

I snap my head towards him.

"What?"I ask in disbelief.

"I mean, as long as we're here, this is gonna keep happening. Right?" he says.

I nod in agreement.

"So, when do we leave?" I ask lowly. We sat on the bed and began to plan.

Later that night... "

Nat, wake up." A voice said as I opened my eyes.

I could hardly make out Nate's figure in the darkness. I crawled out from under the covers. I had slept in a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt instead of my pajamas. I threw on my sneakers and pulled my book bag out from under my bed. I started piling clothes into it.

"Try and make it as light of a load as possible." Nate whispered to me.

I nod as I walk over to the bookshelf. I pick up one of the books we received on Christmas. A book about the famous English explorer Sir Francis Drake.

Ever since we learned about him when we were seven, he became our role model. I looked from the pack to the book. I shake my head and place the book back. Not something essential. Plus, I can read it without needing the book now.

"I already got some food from the kitchen." Nate states.

"Alright. Now we just need to get out of here." I say as I zip up the bag and put the straps on.

We slowly and carefully open the door. We crouched down and quietly made our way down the stairs. I stepped on one the wrong way, causing it to creak. We jumped over the railing and ducked down behind the staircase.

"Hello?" one of the nuns asked, coming out of her room. We held our breath.

"Hmm. Must be the old building makes those weird noises again." she says as we heard a door close.

We peeked out. Not a single soul in sight. We quickly headed for the door and pulled it open. We exited and made sure the door didn't slam when it closed.

"Whew! That was close." Nate says as we began to walk down the street.

"You're telling me." I say, letting out a relieved sigh.

"We should try and be out of town by sunrise. People are gonna be looking for us, you know." I say.

"Yeah." Nate says.

"If people ask who we are, what are we gonna tell them?" I ask.

Nate looks at me and smirks.

"We're Nathan and Natalie Drake, decedents of Sir Francis Drake himself." Nate says proudly.

I smile.

"Drake. Yeah, I like that." I say as I smile.

We continue our way down the sidewalk, our new lives starting right now.


	10. Arguement

"You are so stupid, Nathan!" I heard Nat scream from the living room.

The museum heist was a complete wreak and we had barely made it out without being caught. The two twins had began to argue on whose fault it was.

"I'm stupid?! You're the one who knocked the vase over that set off the alarm!" Nate yelled back.

"Only because you freaking shoved me!" Nat yelled, face as red as Nate's.

"Well, if you hadn't had made that smart ass response, I wouldn't have done that! Besides, I didn't even push you that hard!" Nate yelled.

"So, it's my fault?!" Nat challenged.

"Everything is your fault!" Nate snapped back as Nat's eyes instantly filled with hurt and tears.

She turned away and raced for her door.

"Fine! Walk away! See if I care!" Nate yelled as he marched to his room.

They slammed their doors simultaneously.

I watched the twins throughout the night. They were clearly not on speaking terms, wouldn't even look at each other. They would argue over the littlest things. I finally snapped. I grabbed the due by their arms and led them over to the kitchen table.

"Sit down." I ordered as they obeyed. I slammed my hands down on the table.

"Goddammit,I have had enough of all this bickering! To be clear, it's both of your faults!" I told them.

They looked at me with wide eyes.

"You two know how dangerous this work can be. What if tomorrow, God forbid, if one of you don't make it through? Is this what your last words want to be? Screams of hate and tears?" I tell them as they slowly glanced at each other.

Then they tried to pretend they were still mad as each other by turning their heads defiantly. I sighed.

"Kids, look. You two have a very close and strong bond. Don't let a simple job ruin that." I say as they turned to each other.

"I'm sorry." they say in unison.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you and screamed at you. Everything isn't your fault." Nate says.

Nat smiles.

"I shouldn't have said what I said and not have started this whole thing." she says as they hug each other tightly.

"We good now?" I ask.

They smile and nod.

"Good. Now, I'm gonna go watch t.v. Wanna come?" I ask as I light a cigar.

"Sure. I can make some popcorn and we could find a movie." Nat says as she goes over to the counter and pulls out a bowl and a couple of popcorn bags.

Once we had everything, we put on a movie. A

fter that one ended, I grabbed the remote.

"So, you two wanna watch another?" I ask.

All I received was silence.

I look over and saw that both Nate and Nat had fallen asleep. Nat's head was on Nate's shoulder and his head was on top of hers. I smile and chuckle to myself as I grab a spare blanket from the closet and cover up the twins. I turned everything off before heading to bed myself.


	11. Falling

Nate, Sully, and I walked up to a bridge, the river below was rapid. If you fell in something like that, chances are you'll drown.

"Okay, the ruins shouldn't to far ahead. Just after this bridge then a left." Nate says, looking down at the map.

"Yeah, only one little problem." I say, pointing at the almost rotted wood.

"What?" Nate asks innocently.

"Nate, that goddamn bridge doesn't look safe." Sully says as I nod in agreement.

Nate scoffed.

"C'mon, we've crossed worse then that." He says.

I sigh.

"Alright, I'm in." I say.

Nate smiles and we look to Sully.

"To late to turn back now." he shrugs.

Sully started to cross first, Nate in the middle, and I was last. We began to slowly make our way across. We all suddenly heard a loud creak followed by a snap.

"Did anybody else hear that?" I ask as the boards suddenly collapsed under me.

I screamed in horror as Nate spun around and jumped to catch me, but it was too late. I screamed as I hit the water, searing pain erupting from my left foot as I hit rock bottom. The rapids were holding me under as I struggled to reach the surface. I finally got my head above the water, coughing as I did so.

"Nat! Hold on, we're coming!" Nate yelled as he and Sully raced across the bridge.

The current pulled me under once again as it carried me downstream. Eventually, the rapids got so rough that I couldn't get my body above surface. I started to reach out blindly, hoping to grab something to pull myself up. I spotted a rock and reached out for it. I gripped it tight and fought my way up. I took in a deep breath of fresh air as I climbed up onto the rocky land.

I sat up and put my arms close to my chest, shivering uncontrollably. That water was ice cold. I made sure my ring was still around my neck and was relieved to feel that it was still there. I tried to stand on both feet, but collapsed from the sharp pain in my foot.

"That's not good. Dammit, that's not good at all." I say to myself as I pull out my phone.

Of course, it didn't work. I scoffed.

"Piece of crap." I say as I threw it into the water with a splash.

I examined my foot.

"I can move it, must just be a sprain. Still hurts like a bitch." I say.

I looked around and began to laugh.

"You've got to be kidding me." I chuckle.

I was at the ruins, the ones we were heading to in the first place. I manage to stand without putting to much pressure on my injured foot. I limped to one of the building walls and slid down, holding my foot out.

I was still shaking from the water, and close to passing out from exhaustion, when I heard voices.

"Sully, why the hell are we going here?! We need to look for Nat!" I heard Nate yell.

"Kid, calm down. The river flows this way, chances are, Natalie would have a better chance of getting out." I heard Sully say.

I saw them walked right by me, to busy looking in the river

"Natalie?" Nate screamed.

"Right here." I say quietly.

They turned around and saw me.

"Nat!" Nate yelled as he approached me, accidentally hitting my bad foot.

I hissed in pain as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What? Where are you hurt?" he asks, bending down to my level.

"Think I sprained my foot when I hit the rocks." I say, grimacing.

He looked around and laughed.

"Well, looks like the ruins were a dead end anyway." he says as him and Sully help me to my feet.

"Yeah, what a waste." I say.

"We tried calling your phone. Where is it, anyway?" Nate asks.

I looked to the water.

"There now." I say.

"Jesus, your freezing." Sully says as Nate held me close to him.

"Tell you what. We get out here, get some dry clothes, check out that ankle, and I'll cook you up some hot soup. How's that sound?" Nate asks.

I laugh.

"Sounds like a plan to me." I say as we all laugh as we continue our way back to the jeep.

We drove back to the house and they helped me out of the car and into the house. I changed clothes and allowed the boys to enter. I sat up in the bed, my back against the headboard. Sully put my bad foot up on some pillows and put some behind my back. "

I'll go get the soup cooking. I will be right back." Nate says as he goes to the kitchen.

I waited for his return, trying to ignore the pain. Nate walked back into the room, holding a pill bottle and a glass of water.

"Here, this should help." he says as he pops the lid and hands me two pills.

I put them in my mouth and swallow the water.

"Alright, let's take a look." Nate says as he sits down at the foot of the bed.

I looked down at it. It was swollen and bruised. Nate gently tried moving it around. I cry out in pain. Nate looked at me.

"Yeah, it seems pretty sprained to me." Nate says.

"Well, what do we do?" I ask.

"It means that you aren't getting out of bed anytime soon." Sully said in the doorway, a steaming bowl of hot soup and a bed tray in hand.

I frown.

"I'm bedridden? How am I going to do jobs now?" I say, slightly worried.

"Don't worry about need some time off anyway." Sully says as he puts the bed tray down on the bed and puts the soup on it.

"Plus, we got some new books, remember?" Nate says, patting my shoulder.

I smiled at both of them as I began to eat. After I ate, Nate brought the books in and sat down beside me, placing the books between us. They had elevated and put ice on my foot. After reading a couple of the books, I felt my eyes droop.

"You tired?" Nate asks as I fail to hide a yawn.

Nate picked up the books and put them on the dresser. "

I let you sleep. Oh, I almost forgot!" Nate says as he reaches into his pocket.

He pulled out a cell phone.

"Sully got you a new one since your other one got soaked." he says as he puts it on the beside dresser.

"I'll keep mine in my room. Call me if you need anything." Nate says as he hugs me.

"Night, Nat. I'm glad you're okay." He says as hug him back.

Nate began to walk away.

"How scared were you?" I ask.

"What?" he asks.

"When I fell into the water, how scared were you?" I repeat.

He scoffed.

"I wasn't scared!" He says, defensive.

I laugh.

"Yeah, okay." I say.

"Honest! I knew you were perfectly safe." he says.

I laughed even more.

"Sure thing. Night Nate." I say as I lower my bandaged foot down and I pulled the covers over myself.

I turned off my light and shut the door and I soon fell asleep.


	12. Leaving It All Behind

I was in my bedroom, hearing Nate and Elena scream and yell at each other. It brought back memories of Nate and I as little kids, hearing our parents argue. I tried to guide my concentration back to the uncompleted drawing on the page of my journal. The argument continued as I tried to focus. They have been a rough spot for a pretty good while now. Nate had quit doing jobs, and I decided to give it up as well. Turns out, that's easier said then done. I miss the thrill of getting the artifact, decoding ancient maps, and visiting new places. I finally had enough as I put the journal down and pulled out my travel bag and packed my things. I slung the bag over my shoulder, and headed for the door. Both Nate and Elena fell silent as they watched me open the door.

"Nat, where are you going?" Nate asks, slightly concerned.

I sighed.

"Look, obviously you and Elena need to talk about things and I think it 's best if I just leave for a few days." I say.

Elena forced out a laugh.

"Nat, we're fine! Really!" she says.

"No, you're not!" I suddenly snap.

Their eyes widen.

"My God, I am sick and tired of hearing you two argue all the time! If I knew living with you guys was going to be like this, I wouldn't have left all of this behind!" I yell, holding up my ring.

I sigh and grabbed the door handle.

"Goodbye." I say as I close the door.

I walked out and opened the trunk. I tossed the bag in and opened the driver's side door when Nate rushed out of the house.

"Nat, c'mon, get back in the house." Nate says.

I shake my head.

"No! Until you and Elena get figured out, I'm staying at Sully's." I say as I climb in the seat and shut the door.

"Will you at least call me when you're there?" Nate asks.

I glare at him.

"I might. We'll see. Bye, Nate." I say, rolling the window up.

I pulled the car out of the driveway and sped down the road.

I approached Sully's apartment and knocked on the door. It opened and Sully stared at me then to the bag.

"Can I come in?" I ask.

Sully nods as he steps aside.

"What happened?" Sully asks.

"Nate and Elena were arguing and I got sick of it. So, I packed my things and left." I say simply.

"Still?" he asks. I nod.

"Can I stay here for a few days.?" I ask.

He sighs.

"Kid, your brother is going to kill me." Sully says, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Not if I kill him first." I mumble.

Sully looks at me.

"I take it you aren't on speaking terms with him?" He asks, cautiously.

I scoff.

"I'm not talking to both of them until they figure everything out." I say as my phone rings.

I take out my cell and glare at the caller I.D

I set it down on the table and pull out one of my books. Sully looks from the phone to me.

"Are you gonna answer your phone?" he asks.

I look up at him.

"Huh? What phone? I don't hear a phone." I say, playing dumb.

"Natalie." Sully says as he reaches for the phone.

"Victor Sullivan, if you pick up that phone, that's the last thing you'll ever do." I threaten.

He pulls his hand back.

"Okay. Defiantly not on speaking terms." Sully says as the ring stops.

"Oh, there's my phone." I say, faking joy.

Sully rolled his eyes as his house phone rang.

"Can I answer my own phone or are you going to bite my head off again?" he asks.

I shrug as I pretended to read the small print.

"I don't care, but I'm not talking to him." I say, determined.

Sully sighs as he answers the phone.

"Hello?" he asks as he receives a response through the other side of the line.

"Yeah, she's here." he says as he looks at me.

I send him a warning glare.

"Yeah, she's not in the mood to talk right now." he says.

A moment of silence goes by before he responds.

"Nate, I would really like to keep my head on my shoulders. Just, call back later, alright? Okay, I'll talk to her. Alright, bye." he says as he hangs up the phone.

"Nate says he loves you." he says as I give out a harsh laugh.

"He only says that when he feels guilty." I say, glancing at him.

"Look, tell me what happened. All of it." Sully says as I lay the book down beside my phone as I explain everything.

"Wow." Sully says as he leans back on the couch.

I nod.

"Now you know what I've had to deal with." I say as we heard a knock at the door.

Sully and I looked at each other.

"You expecting company?" I ask quietly.

He shakes his head as we stand. We got on each side of the door. Even if you're out of the business, doesn't mean old enemies won't return.

"Who is it?" Sully asks sternly.

"Sully. It's Nate." My brother says as I walk away from the door.

Sully opens it and allows Nate to enter. I noticed he had his bag with him.

"Elena and I both decided that we needed a break." Nate says softly.

"What?" I ask.

He nods as he looks down.

"Nate, I- I'm sorry." I say as I walk over and hug him.

He returns the favor and pats my back.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I can still count on you, right Natty?" he asks. "

Yeah! That's what twins are for." I say, hiding my frown.

He puts on a fake smile. I know he's just putting on a show. His smirk is like mine, crooked and sly. This one is to perfect, to controlled.

"Hey, how about we go to the old pizzeria down town? You love that place! Then, if you want, we can start doing jobs again! Just like old times, huh?" he asks as he places his bag beside mine.

"Wanna join us, Sully?" Nate asks.

Sully shakes his head.

"Nah, you two go on ahead." he says as he waves his hand.

"Okay, more bonding time for us!" Nate says as he opens the door.

I walk out and sigh to myself. Nate's just trying to pretend like everything is just fine.

"Nate, are you alright?" I ask as I turn to him.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine!" he says, but he didn't look me in the eye.

I laugh slightly.

"Nate, I can tell when you're lying." I say.

He chuckles.

"Twin bond?" he tries to joke.

"That, and you're not looking at me when you speak." I say.

He ruffles my hair.

"I'm fine, Natalie. I was doing swell before she came into my life, I'll do the same without her. Now, come on. We wanna get the the restaurant before dinner time, don't we?" he asks as he gets into the driver's side.

I walk over to the passenger side and shut the door. My phone dinged, letting me know that I had received a text message. I looked at my phone and saw it was from Elena.

"Nat, I'm sorry. It's just something we needed to do. Take care of Nate for me." I read to myself, low enough to where Nate wouldn't hear me.

I put my phone away as Nate puts the key into the ignition.

He looks to me.

"Ready?" he asks.

I smile.

"Yeah, let's go." I say as we turned around and drove down the road.

Nate would get over it, once the pain passes, but the scars would be there. Only time will tell when they will re-open.


	13. Bar Fight

"C'mon, sweetheart. We can go back to my place and get to know each other." A man slurred.

"I said no." I say sternly.

After a successful job, Nate and I had decided to head to the local bar to celebrate. After all, we did just turn 21 a couple days ago. Nate had just gone to the bathroom when this biker stumbled up to me. He then noticed my necklace.

"Hey, what's that? A marriage ring?" he asks as he reaches for it. I slap his hand away.

"Don't touch me. Go back to your little gang and leave me the hell alone." I growl as the man grabs my wrist and pulls me off my stool.

"Let go of me!" I yell as I stomp on his foot.

He lets go of me and holds his foot. I turned around to run but he grabs me by shoulders and spins me around.

"You need to learn some respect, girl!" The man yells as he raises his fist.

He began to swing down when someone caught his fist with their hand.

The man looked over to see Nate holding his wrist.

"I wouldn't mess with her if I was you." Nate says lowly as the man pulled his hand out of Nate's grasp.

"Come on, Nat. Let's get the hell out of here." Nate says as he put his arm around me in a protective manner, his eyes never leaving the man.

We walked a couple steps forward when some of the man's gang members blocked the door.

"Look, we don't want any trouble." Nate says as we put our arms down by our sides, balling them into fists.

"You two should thought that before messing with our boss!" One woman yelled, punching her fist in her palm.

Nate and I looked at each other before the man behind us got Nate in a choke hold and pulled him back.I grabbed an empty beer bottle from the table beside us before smashing it on the back of the boss's head. He let Nate go and glared at me.

"Come on, big boy!" I yell as he charged towards me.

"Oh, crap!" I yell as I take off.

I raced around table by table, dodging the man's attempts to grab me. Nate was busy fighting off another guy. I grabbed a lamp off of a counter and swung it across the man's face, knocking the leader out. I sigh in relief just as I was slammed against the wall.

"You stupid bitch!" A woman yelled as she punched me in the gut.

I pushed her off of me as I gasped for breath.

I manage to stumbled to the bathroom and try to regain the ability to breath. I tried to raise my fists as the door opens.

"Easy, Natty. It's me." Nate says as I lower my fists and cough.

"You alright? I saw the woman running over to you, but I couldn't get to you in time." he says as he puts his hands on my shoulders.

I nod.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I say as the door busted open.

"There you two cowards are!" the woman who knocked me against the wall yelled.

"Oh, crap. Run!" Nate said as we bolted out of the bathroom into more goons.

"Come here, bitch!" the woman snaps as she grabs me by the hair and pulls me back.

I slam my elbow into her shoulder. She cries out in pain as I spin around and grab her by the collar of her shirt.

"Sorry, that's not how I fight." I say as I punch her square in the jaw.

I looked to see one man had Nate's arms pinned behind him, another getting ready to punch him. Just as he threw his arm forward, Nate picked his feet up and kicked him, knocking him back. He then hit the man's nose with his head. The idiot let go of my twin as he held his now bloody nose. One man tried to grab me from behind, but I tripped him and slammed his head into a table, breaking it.

Little did I know, the leader was awake again.

"Nat, look out!" Nate yelled as I felt someone's arm go around my neck and lift me off the ground.

I tried kicking, but he failed to let me go. It then began to get harder for air to get to my lungs. An idea formed in my head as I screamed as loud as I could. My plan worked as he put his hand over my mouth. I then bit down on his hand and he yelled out. He let go of me to hold his injured hand.

"That was for insulting me." I say as I kicked him in the private parts before slamming my fist into the side of his face, knocking him out.

"That was for putting my brother in a choke hold, you asshole." I say as I turn to the remaining enemies.

I saw that Nate had got cornered by two goons so I grabbed a bar stool and knocked it up against a guy's skull. The other got me in the nose and Nate tackled him to the floor. I wiped my hand against my nose. I looked down at it to see it was bleeding.

I wiped my hand on my pants as Nate got hit by another woman. I responded by running over and slamming her head against the bar. I then looked to Nate and saw that he was defiantly gonna have a black eye.

"Did you really just get hit by a girl?" I ask as he handed me a napkin.

"Shut up." he says as he examines my nose.

"Good news is that it isn't broken but it does looked bruised." he says as I laugh. He looks at me.

"Why are you laughing?" he asks.

"You're gonna have a bruised eye and I'm gonna have a bruised nose. Shows how alike we are, huh." I say as Nate chuckles.

"Let's just get back to the motel and get some ice." he says as he opens the door and I head outside.

"I think they're gonna need more than that." I say, nodding my hand back towards the bar.

Nate chuckled.

"We Drakes whooped some major butt." Nate says as we high five each other.

"Alright, let's get back to the motel before the cops show up, shall we?" Nate says as we began to jog down the street back to the motel where we patched each other up.


	14. First Night

I watched the twins eat their food like there was no tomorrow.

"Kids, you can take your time. We can always get more." I say as they give me the perfect teenage scowl.

They remained silent but I noticed they start to take time to swallow.

"So, where are you two from?" I ask.

They ignored me.

"Age? Height? Favorite color? Anything?" I ask as Natalie looked up at me.

"Why do you care?" she asks, honestly confused.

"If you and your brother are gonna stay with me, I wanna get to know you." I say as Nate puts down his fork.

"We didn't say we would stay with you." he snaps.

I nod.

"I didn't say that either. I said if." I say as Nate stares at me.

He slowly nods as he picks up a roll from the basket in front of him. He splits it in half and gives one piece to his sister.

"We're fifteen." Nat says as she takes a bite of the bread.

I nod as I looked at the two. They're pretty young to be street kids. They finished eating and I stood up.

"Alright, kids. You can come back with me to the motel or you can stay here. Your choice." I say as the twins walked a few feet from me and began to whisper.

I chuckled lightly as I watched them. They've defiantly got the twin bond. They walk back over.

"We'll go with you. Only temporary." Nate says sternly but Nat rolls her eyes.

I smile.

"Alright, kids." I say as we walk out of the building and down the road to the nearest hotel.

I walk in and the twins look around before entering.

"Whoa!" Nat says when she sees the view.

She ran over to the sliding door, opened it, and stood out on the balcony.

"Nate, look at this!" she says as she waves him to come closer.

He walks over and stand beside her.

"Wow." He says as they look out over the city.

"This beats all the rooftop views I've seen." Nat says as I look at her.

"Why did you climb rooftops?" I ask.

They looked at me.

"Sometimes to get away from the cops, hide from shop owners, or people watch." Nate says.

I raise my eyebrow.

"People watch?" I ask as they smile sheepishly.

I chuckle and walk back inside. I turned on the TV and sat down on the couch. The kids had took out they're journals and began drawing the landscape.

"Why didn't you two sell drawings? You're certainly good at it." I say.

"Nobody would buy them, anyway. Plus, where would we have gotten all that paper and time. Cops don't like people like us." Nate says as I look to them.

"People like us?" I repeated.

"Yeah. Homeless folk. The police always called us the scum of the city." Nat adds as she peer up from her sketching.

I turn my attention back to the TV. The Drakes soon came in and I saw Nat was trying to hide a yawn.

"You tired?" I ask her.

She shook her head.

"No!" she says as she yawned again.

I laughed as Nate copied Nat.

"There's a bedroom down the hall to the left." I say as they nodded.

"Night Sully." Nat and Nate say as they disappear down the hall.

I nodded.

"Night kids." I reply as I watched the program.

I soon got tired myself and turned everything off. I passed by the teens room and I look in. They were both dead asleep, huddled close. They don't even have to be awake to be protective about each other. I smile and shake my head before going to the other bedroom. Looks like the kids are gonna be staying her for a while. What do I know about taking care of a kid? Much less twins? Guess I'll have to figure it out.


	15. Punishments and Chores

According to the Uncharted Wiki, Nate knows many of the characters from the orphanage and that's where this idea came from. Enjoy!

* * *

"That's not fair! We didn't start that food fight, Mark did!" I yell at Sister Lexi.

"Do not raise your tone at me, Ms. Grant. You and your brother should have thought about the consequences before starting that disgusting food fight." she scolded.

Nate smirked.

"You're right. The food is disgusting, but that's not the point." Nate says as I laugh.

I saw fire light up in Sister Lexi's eyes. "Two more days of lunch duty for you both!" she says as she pushes us into the kitchen before slamming the door.

"Sorry about that, Natty." Nate says as we go over to the sink.

"It's fine. I just wish they wouldn't blame us all the time." I say.

"Then who else are they gonna punish, love?" A British voice asked.

I turned around and splashed water on the boy.

"Can it, Flynn!" I say playfully.

"Hey, that was my favorite shirt." he says as he swips the liquid away.

"So, what you in for?" he asks as he sits on the table.

"For 'starting' a food fight. It was really Mark, but do they ever believe us?" Nate asks as I slam a plate into the sink.

"Wait, that was you two? Introducing the Drake twins, the orphanage's main trouble makers!" Harry announced.

"Shut up. What did you do?" I ask.

He smirked.

"Pissed in the courtyard fountain on a dare. Got ten dollars out of the deal." he says as he smiles.

"You're real proud of yourself, aren't you?" Nate asks.

"Absolutely!" Flynn says as he nods.

I rolled my eyes. Flynn would do just about anything for extra money. He once flipped off one of the sisters for fifteen dollars.

"You're so stupid, Flynn." I say as he points a finger at me.

"You said a bad word, Drake! Another day of chores!" he screeched, voice mocking one of the nuns.

I couldn't help but laugh. The door opened, revealing Sister Lexi's ugly head.

"Do I need to separate you three?" she snaps as Nate pulled me close.

"As if you could." Nate mumbled where only I could here.

Harry did a mock salute.

"No, ma'am." he says as she huffs and shuts the door.

"Are you even going to work?" I ask as Harry shrugs.

I sigh as I hand him the broom.

"Here, sweep the kitchen floor and knock down any of the cobwebs." I say.

Harry huffed.

"Bloody hell, that's a lot of work." he says as he takes it.

"Shouldn't of pissed in the fountain then." Nate says.

Harry had been transferred here a couple months after we changed our last name. We became friends pretty easy. Nate and I finished dishes and began to dust the counters and tables.

"How many days you got?" I ask Flynn.

"Five. What about you two?" Harry says as Nate rolled his eyes.

"It was one until Nate smarted off that old hag, now we got three." I say as Harry chuckled.

"I'm gonna have to start calling you twins the troublesome duo." he says.

"You come up with that one by yourself? Shocking." Nate says as Harry put Nate in a playfully headlock.

"You boys better knock it off before we get in trouble. Again." I scold as Flynn let Nate go.

"Better listen to your twin. She can be downright terrifying." Harry says as I nod.

"You know it." I say.

We finished doing our chores and sat a table.

"We still got thirty minutes of chore time. What you Drakes wanna do?" Flynn asks.

We shrug.

"I don't know." Nate and I say.

Flynn chuckled.

"If the resemblance doesn't give it away, that sure will." Harry says as he pulls out a deck of playing cards from his pocket.

"Who's up for a game?" he asks as we nod.

We then began to play man different card games. After a while, I heard footsteps. We quickly gathered up the cards and Flynn pushed the back into the box and into his pocket. Sister Lexi walked in and we formed a perfect line.

"I hope you three are learning your lessons. I shall see you tomorrow evening at the same time. You are dismissed." she says as we exit the kitchen.

"That was close, mates." Harry says as we chuckle.

Harry gets in the middle of us and puts his arms around us.

"You two aren't bad for a couple of history buffs." He jokes as I roll my eyes.

"You ain't so bad for a greedy little boy." I reply as he scoffs.

"I am not little, darling." he says as Nate laughs.

"That's the only thing he disagreed with." Nate says as we all chuckled.

"See you later, Flynn." I say as we all head back to our rooms.


	16. Sick

Natalie pov:

I woke up hearing Nate coughing up a lung. I switch the lamp on and I was horrified at what I saw. Nate was pale as a ghost with sweat flowing down his forehead and dark circles under his eyes.

"I'm fine, Natty. Go back to bed." he croak as he began to cough again.

He shot up and ran to the bathroom. My face curls up in disgust as I hear Nate. I walked into Sully's room.

"Sully?" I ask, shaking him.

"Huh? What is it, kid?" he asks as he sits up.

"Nate's sick." I say as Sully gets out of bed and walks to our room.

"I am not sick." Nate says in between shaky breaths.

"Right. So you just look that horrible everyday?" Sully asks.

Nate groans.

"We still got that job in Germany?" I ask Sully.

"Yeah, but it can wait since Nate's sick." Sully says.

"No, no. You two go on ahead. I'll be just fine here." Nate tries as he began to vomit again.

I turn my head to Sully.

"You go. I'll stay here and take care of Nathan." I say.

"You sure you can handle this, kid?" Sully asks as he glances at my twin.

"Sully, we've been taking care of each other long before anyone cared about us." I say.

Sully smirked.

"Who said I cared about you two?" I ask.

I chuckle.

"Not many people can handle kids. Especially twins who have a dark past." I say.

Sully nods.

"True" he says as he goes into his room and gets his bags.

"Are you positive you got this?"He asks me as he heads for the door.

I sighed.

"Yes, Sully." I say as Sully turns around and ruffles my hair.

"I can stay, you know." he says.

I shake my head.

"The client didn't seem like he's one that's going to take no for an answer." I say.

He opens the door and turns towards me.

"You know I'm only gonna be gone for a day or two, right?" he asks.

I nod.

"Yeah. I know you'll come back. I trust you." I say as Sully smiles.

"See ya soon." he says.

"Get well soon, Nate!" Sully yells.

Nate groaned in response. I shut the door and walked into the bathroom.

"C'mon, let's get you resting." I say as I lead him to the bed.

"Natty, this isn't where the T.V is." Nate says as I laugh.

"Right. What was I thinking?" I ask as Nate gave out a small chuckle.

"You wasn't." he says.

I rolled my eyes and took Nate to the couch in the living room. I gently laid him down and gave him the remote.

"Thanks, Natty." Nate says as I go and retrieve a pillow and blanket.

I put the pillow behind his head and put the blanket over him. I felt his forehead. As expected, it was burning up.

"Stay here." I order him as I go into the kitchen and put a washcloth under some cold water.

I squeezed any excess water out and folded it up into a rectangle. I walked back to the couch and gently laid it on his head. He seemed to relax more.

I walked back into the kitchen and took out a cooking pot. I got out one of the few cookbooks Sully had and I began to flip threw the pages. I found what I was looking for.

"Chicken noodle soup." I say to myself.

It's original, yes, but easy to make. If I had everything to make it, that is. I began to look through the cupboards.

"Nat, are you cooking?" I hear Nate ask in disbelief from the living room.

"Nate, hush. You need to rest." I scold.

"Yes, ma'am." he says.

I get all the ingredients and begin to cook. Once it was done, I got out two bowls and a ladle. I carefully poured some into a bowl, grabbed a spoon, and walked over to Nate.

"Here." I say gently as I help him sit up.

"I'm not that hungry." he says as he takes the bowl.

"Try to eat some of it. You need to keep something in your system." I say as I take the cloth of his head and go rinse it again.

When I came back, Nate had put the bowl on the table, laid back down, and went to sleep. After I ate, I looked at the clock. 10 o'clock. I yawn as I place the cloth back on Nathan's head. He seems to have eaten some of the soup and is resting good. I go and put the remaining soup into the fridge and leave a note for Sully. I ball myself up on the armchair. I could go to my bed but Nate might need something or his fever might spike. Besides, Sully will be home in a couple of hours anyway. I let my eyes close.

I was awakened by someone gently shaking my shoulder.

"Kid, wake up." I heard Sully's voice say as I open my eyes and sit up straight.

"Sully?" I ask as I stretched.

"Yeah. I just got back from Germany." he says as I yawned.

"How did it go?" I ask as I rubbed my eyes.

He nods.

"Successful. What were you doing sleeping on the chair? That thing will give you a bad crick in your neck." he asks as I shrug.

"Felt like it, I guess." I say as he goes into the kitchen and reads the note.

He laughed quietly.

"Okay, so you made soup and stayed close to your sick twin because you just felt like it?" he asks.

"Alright, you got me." I say, raising my hands slightly.

He smirks and shook his head.

"Go onto bed, Nat. No sense you sleeping in the living room when there's a bed in the next room." he says as I glance at Nate.

He did seem to be sleeping well. Sully put his hand on my shoulder.

"Nat, he's gonna be alright. Let him sleep it off. The last thing I need you both ill and cranky. You two bicker enough as it is." he says as I look at him.

"We do not bicker!" I say as he gives me a look.

"Okay, maybe a little." I say as I walk to my room.

"See you in the morning?" I ask.

He nods.

"Sure thing, kid." he says as I enter my room and shut the door.

Sully pov..

I sighed as I sat down in the chair and lit a cigar.

"I'm already sick and light one of those nasty things?" I heard Nate say as he woke up.

I chuckled.

"Stop your complaining. Seems like your sister took good care of you." I say as he nodded.

"Yeah. I learned something too. Don't question her if she's cooking. A mistake I'm not gonna make again." he says as he wiped his eyes.

"How you feeling?" I ask. "Better. Still feel like crap, but not as bad." he says as I stand.

"There any soup left?" I ask.

"Should be. Natty fixed a whole pot full." he states as I open the fridge and take out the pot.

"So I can see." I say as I take a bowl out of the cabinet, a spoon and ladle from the dishwasher, and put the food in the microwave.

I waited as it heated up.

It soon dinged and I carefully removed the hot bowl. I sat down at the table and began eating. Nate coughed as he turned on his side.

"Nat asleep?" he asks.

I nod as I swallow the spoonful of soup in my mouth.

"Yeah. When I came back, she was curled up on the chair." I say.

"Really? I figured she would have went to the bedroom." he says as I chuckle lightly.

"She was worried about you." I state. He looks at me.

"On the streets, getting sick could be he death of you." he says as I look at him.

He shakes his head.

"I'm going to bed." he says as he manages to get on his feet.

He sneezed as he cleared his throat.

"Night, Sully." he says.

"Night, Nate. Get well." I say as he laughed slightly.

"I got Nat as a doctor, I think I'm gonna be fine." he says as he disappeared into the dark room.

I soon finished my food and put the dirty dish in the sink. I stretched as I went to check on the twins. I peered inside as the hall light flooded the room. Nate was on his stomach, not as pale as he was when I left. I looked over at Natalie. She was on her side, facing the door. I chuckled as I shut the door. Those two knew how to take care of themselves and each other. I wondered about they're past, but I wasn't going to push it. They'll tell me whenever they're ready. I yawned as I rubbed the back of my neck. A nap doesn't sound to bad, actually. I went into my room and fell into the bed. A couple days later, Nate was his healthy self again.


	17. Bowling

"Where exactly are we going?" Natalie asked me.

I sighed.

"Bowling, kids." I say as they nod.

It's been two weeks since I picked the teens up off of the street. They're still anxious and jumpy around me, but it's improving. If only slightly. A commercial for the local bowling alley had came on last night. The twins had asked me what bowling was. It shocked me at how book smart the kids were, yet had little knowledge of the world around them. They looked kinda nervous.

"It'll be fun." I say as they looked in the mirror.

"Right." they say doubtfully.

Once they get inside, they'll warm up to the idea.

I pulled into the parking lot and we got out. They looked at the building skittishly. I patted them on the shoulder. I noticed how they jumped and tensed up. I walked forward and looked back at them. They looked at each other before slowly following me. We entered the place as the music played loudly. It was almost empty which seemed to relieve the duo a little.

"This way." I say as they looked around.

"It's loud, Sully." Nate says as they covered their ears.

I chuckle.

"You'll get used to it." I say as they nod slightly.

They're defiantly not like other kids they're age.

We walked over to the counter and I paid for a lane and some shoes. The twins told me what size shoe they were wearing and the cashier nodded. She handed me the shoes and I held out two pairs to the twins. They took them, sat down, and put them on without a word. I did the same and chuckled lightly.

"Always thought these shoes were ugly as homemade sin." I joke, trying to loosen the duo up.

They laughed a little.

"Yeah. They're slippery too." Nat says as I chuckled a little.

"That's normal. It helps you when your bowling." I say as I sat down at the little machine.

"What does that do?" They ask.

"It's to set up the pins, put your names in, and keep score." I explain.

"Score? How do you keep score?" Nate asks.

Man, these kids will ask every question under the sun if they find the subject interesting.

"I don't know how they score bowling. The machine just does it." I say as I put all of our names in.

"Okay, now it's time to go get the bowling balls." I say.

"Is this like soccer? Nate and I played a lot soccer back in Cartegena." Nat says as I chuckle. '

"No, it's not like soccer." I say as we approach the racks full of bowling balls.

"Why are there so many?" Nate asked.

"They are different weights. You don't want one that's to light nor to heavy. Kinda like Goldilocks trying to find the right porridge or bed." I say.

"Who?" they ask. I shake my head.

"Nevermind." I say as I pick up an eight pound ball.

I held it out to Nat. She backs away slightly and put her hands up to her chest.

"It ain't gonna bite ya, kid." I reassure.

She stepped up some.

"Just put your middle finger and your ring finger in the side-by-side holes and your thumb in the other one." I instruct as she cautiously reaches her hand out.

She does what I told her and I looked at her.

"Nice job, Nat." I say as she gave a faint smile.

"Now, I'm gonna let it go and see if you can hold it. Okay?" I ask as she gives a more confident nod.

I let go of the ball as Nat put her other hand under it.

"Well?" I ask.

"Not to light. Not to heavy, Just right." she says as I nod.

"Good." I say as I look to Nate.

"You want the same pound ball as your sister to start off with?" I ask as he nods.

"Sure." he says as I hand him a ball and instruct him like I did Nat.

He did good as well and we made it back to our lane.

"Okay, put the balls in the circle thing." I say.

"What does that do?" Nate asked.

"When you bowl and it passes the pins, it comes back through that." I explain as they nod.

"So, what now?" Nate asks as I picked up my ball.

"Now, you gotta roll it and try to keep it from going into the gutters, as they're called." I say.

"So, if the ball goes into the 'gutters', we get no points?" Nat asks.

"And the more pins we knock over, the more we get?" Nate added.

"Exactly." I say.

I looked at the full set of pins.

"Okay, now you just roll the ball." I say as I move one foot back and rolled the object down the lane.

I knocked down all but two pins in my two tries. I looked up at the screen.

"Alright, Nate. Your turn." I say as Nat looked at me.

"Why does he go first?" she asks.

"That's because I'm the older twin." he said proudly.

Nat looked slightly annoyed as she opened her mouth.

"By a minute and a half." she snapped as I rolled my eyes.

"Kids." I say as they quit the minor bickering.

Nate stood up and picked up the ball like I showed him. He walked up to the lane and rolled the ball down. It landed in the gutter. His shoulders fell as I cautiously patted him on the shoulder.

"You still got another try, kid." I say as the ball came back. He picked it up and sighed.

"Don't be so tense. Relax, take a breath. Don't just randomly roll it and hope you hit one." I say as he nodded.

He walked back up to the edge of the lane and took a breath.

"C'mon, Nate!" Nat encouraged from her seat, clapping her hands.

I looked at her and chuckled lightly. She was watching intently, waiting to see what would happen.

Nate smiled slightly as he rolled the ball down the lane. One by one, the pins fell. Nat cheered as she got up and hugged him. He hugged her back, smiling brightly.

"Nice job. You got a spare." I say as they looked at me.

"What's a spare?" they ask as I chuckled.

"If you knock all the pins down, it's called a strike. If you miss some but knock them all down on the second try, it's called a spare." I explain.

"So, in this, a strike is a good thing?" Nate asks.

"That's confusing." they say as I laughed.

"Yeah, you kids have a point there." I say as I look at Nat.

"You're up, kid." I say to her. She looked unsure as Nate patted her back.

"You got this, Natty!" he reassured as she hesitantly nodded.

She tossed the ball and we watched as it approached the pins. My eyes went wide as all the pins fell, knocking against each other.

"Strike!" Nat said happily, smiling bigger than the sun. Nate rushed to her and they hugged.

"Nice one, Nat!" he says as they laughed.

I let the kids have they're moment before ruffling their hair. They chuckled as they playfully swatted my hands away.

"Knock it off, Sully!" they said as they grinned up at me.

I smiled as they looked up at the screen above the lane.

"You're go, Sully!" Nat says as they sat down.

I laughed as I picked up the bowling ball. I rolled only for it to go into the gutter. I could hear two pairs of snickering coming from behind me.

"Something funny, kids?" I ask as they tried to silence they're laughter.

"N-No!" they say, still chuckling.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as the ball came back.

"Let's go, Sully!" I heard Nate encourage as well as Nat.

I nodded.

"Thanks." I say as I rolled it only to get the same result.

They laughed.

"Are you sure we shouldn't be teaching you?" Nat mocked as Nate continued to laugh.

"Don't get to cocky, kids. You're that enough as it is." I say as I took a seat.

Nate jumped up more eagerly this time. That's a good sign. I watched him as he bowled. It was then Nat's turn again. I saw that they both were more eager and confident now. At least they weren't afraid that the ball would eat them anymore. We finished playing the game as I hit the button on the machine that you hit when you are finished bowling.

"Are you kids up for another game?" I ask as I heard two tired yawns.

I chuckled as I turned around to see two worn out Drakes.

"Guess not, huh?" I ask as they nodded lightly.

I stood up as the kids grabbed the snacks and drinks I had bought them. We gave the woman the shoes back and headed out to the car. I then noticed it was dark out.

"Must have been a long game.." I heard Nat mumble sleepily.

"Guess so." Nate said as they crawled into the back seat.

I got into the driver's side and cranked up the car. I pulled out of the parking lot and started driving back to the motel, the radio softly playing.

"You two have fun?" I ask.

"Uh huh." they said softly, their heads against the windows.

I chuckled as I put my attention back on the road.

"Wasn't as bad as you thought, huh?" I ask. No response.

"Nate? Nat?" I ask as I peer up at the rear-view mirror.

I faintly smiled as I saw the two sleeping twins. They're heads were rested up against the windows as they're hands were on top of each other. I guess to make sure the other one was still there. I wanted to know more about them and they're past, but you can't rush those things. If they ever want to talk about it, they can approach me. I won't force anything out of them. I looked back out onto the road as I smiled to myself. Sure, I may have purposely gotten two gutter balls, but I wasn't gonna ruin the twins good time. They seemed to enjoy themselves and those were the biggest smiles I have seen out of them since I met them. Plus, they haven't left yet. Must be doing something right.


	18. Mother's Day

"Do you want me to go with you, kids?" Sully asked as we looked at him.

"No, uh, we got it." I said as we picked up the car keys.

"You sure? Twenty-one years olds on the streets this close to dark might not be a good idea." he said as we chuckled lightly.

"We got this, Sully. Do we need to remind you of Colombia?" Nate asked as Sully took a drag of his nasty cigar.

"No. I think I remember it pretty clear." Sully said as we smiled slightly.

"We might be back a little late. Is that alright?" I asked him as he nodded.

"Just be careful." he said as we smirked.

"Aren't we always?" we asked in unison as Sully scoffed.

"Yeah, sure." he said as we exited the motel room and we got into Nate's jeep.

"We don't have to do this, you know." Nate said as I took a deep breath.

"When are we gonna be this close again, Nate?" I questioned as he nodded with a sigh.

"True. Let's just get this over with." he said as he pulled out of the parking lot and we started driving down the road.

We continued to drive until we pulled into an old, cracked driveway. The house itself was showing its age. Chipped white paint on the outer walls, the windows covered in dust and some were cracked.

We got out of the car as we looked around at all the dead grass and flowers. Nobody's lived here in years. We then up at the two-floor house. We walked up the porch steps as they creaked and cracked with the pressure of our weights on its unused floor. The right chain on the swing had broken as that one side laid on the ground while the left side swayed in the wind.

"I guess it's true what they say." Nate stated as I looked over at him.

"You can never outrun your past." he finished as I nodded.

"Indeed." I said as I heard a car door shut.

"May I help you?" a voice asked as we turned to look at who it was.

A cop approached us as we looked at him.

"We were just passing through and saw this old house. We got curious so we decided to drop in." Nate lied as he cop sighed.

"Yeah, this is the old Grant house. Sad tale, really." he said as we really got curious.

"What do you mean?" I asked as he sighed.

"We always got calls from this house. Domestic violence, mostly. Everytime we got some officers up here, the wife would change her mind. Said nothing was wrong." he said as we looked down.

We remembered those calls.

"Must have been hard on those kids too. Poor things." the cop said as our eyes glanced up at him.

"Kids?" we asked.

"Yeah. Twins. A boy and a girl. They always looked scared to death but they never told us anything. Just stayed quiet." he said as he took off his hat.

"Wasn't a couple years later, we got a call. The woman, the kids mother, had killed herself." he said as we clenched our fists.

"The kids had seen everything." he said as we looked up at him.

"Damn." we said as it was all we could manage to speak.

"Yeah. Father eventually gave them up when the kids were five. Taken out to St. Francis's." the cop said as we started for the car.

"Thanks for the story." we said simply as we got back in the jeep and pulled out.

"I didn't know our life story was a damned legend around here." I snapped as I looked out of the window.

"I'm sure he doesn't go around telling everybody that." Nate reassured as we drove down the road.

"Do you even know where it's at?" I asked him as he nodded.

"I found out." he said as we pulled into the old cemetery.

"We can always turn around." Nate said as I shook my head.

"We've come this far now. L-Let's just go." I said as we got out of the car and started walking past all of the old gravestones.

We reached the one we were looking for as we sighed.

"Hey, mom." we said as I looked at the old stone.

Anna Marie Grant. Born in 1950 and died in 1979.

She slit her throat in the living room.

I guess she didn't think we would be home from the store that early...

"So, we don't know if you're listening. We hope you can hear us, anyway." I started as Nate rubbed the back of his neck.

"Funny. Now that we're here, we don't know what to say." Nate said as we let out a light chuckle.

"Well. You missed a lot." I said as I put my hands in my jean pockets.

"Everytime we lost a baby tooth, birthdays, holidays, usual family stuff." Nate said as I could feel something in my eyes.

"You told us you were gonna get us out, mom. You said that we'd get away from Issac and live our own life. Together." I said as I shook my head.

We hadn't cried when we found her body, we didn't cry at her funeral, and we didn't cry when 'dad' mocked us for her death.

So, why did I feel like crying now?

"You lied to us, mom. You left us with that...asshole." Nate said as we crossed our arms.

"You left us all alone." we said softly as I bit my bottom lip.

"A permanent solution to a temporary problem." I whispered as we took a shaky breath.

"W-We like to think that you're proud of us. It's not a typical job, for sure. Yet...we enjoy it." Nate said as we pulled out a red rose from our jackets.

That's when I felt something wet roll down my cheek.

"H-Happy Mother's Day, mom." we said as we laid the roses next to the grave while the tears continued to go down my face.

"C'mere." Nate said as he hugged me as I started to let all of those tears from years of holding back out.

The sobs racked my whole body as I could have sworn I had saw a couple of tears welding up in Nate's eyes.

"I-It's alright, Natty. It's okay." Nate said to me as I continued to cry.


	19. First Date

"You're horrible at this." I laughed at my best friend, Harry Flynn.

"Oh, like you're any better?" Flynn taunted as he threw another dart towards the dartboard.

We had just sneaked our way into the run down bar as Nate was currently trying to bribe the bartender into selling us drinks without us having to show I.D's.

Flynn was legally allowed in here but Nate and I wasn't. It was Flynn's idea to even go into this old place. The old jukebox in the corner was playing a song though the volume was kinda low.

"I bet I'm better than you." I taunted as he smirked at me.

"Alright then, darling. Prove it." Flynn said as he held out the dart to me,

"Fine." I said as I grabbed it out of his hand before aiming at the dartboard.

"Don't miss." Flynn said in my ear as I glanced over at him.

"Do you want this dart to go into your eye?" I mocked as he chuckled.

"You wouldn't do that to me, darling. You love me to much." he said as I laughed.

"Oh, that's funny, Flynn. You're a real comedian." I said as he leaned up against the nearby pool table.

"Look me in the eyes and say you don't have a crush on little ole me." he said as my cheeks blushed a little bit.

"I've got a dart to throw, Flynn." I said as he got in front of me and grabbed my hand in which the dart was.

"Now you don't." he said as I stared at him.

"Do you have a crush on me?" I asked him as he chuckled.

"I believe I asked you first, Drake." he said as I rolled my eyes.

"Suppose I say that I do have a small crush on you. What would your answer be to that?" I asked as he grinned before leaning in close.

"Then I guess we'd be a couple, darling." he said as I grinned at him as he still had my hand in his.

"I guess we are." I answered as he released my hand and I threw the dart, watching it hit the bulls-eye.

"Told you that I was better." I said as he chuckled before taking my hand.

"What do you say about round two?" he asked as I chuckled, holding his hand tightly.

"Only if you feel like losing again." I taunted as he scoffed.

"Low blow, darling. Low blow." he said as I chuckled, resting my head on his shoulder.

"We gonna tell your brother?" Flynn asked as I shook my head.

"What he doesn't know won't kill him." I said as Flynn nodded.

"Fair enough, darling. Consider this our first date." he said I chuckled, happy and content.

Who knew my best friend would turn into my boyfriend?


	20. AU: If Flynn had survived in U2

This is my first AU so...yay! XD It will be in Natalie's POV. It takes place when Elena and Nat first wake up!

* * *

My eyes slowly opened as I saw Chloe.

"C-Chloe?" I asked weakly as she looked at me.

"Natalie!" she said as I tried to sit up but Chloe gently put her hands on my shoulder.

"Easy, sweetheart. You've been through a lot." she said as my tired eyes looked at her.

"W-Where's Nate?" I asked in a slightly panicked tone as Chloe nodded.

"He's with Victor, don't worry. Though, it hasn't been easy on your twin. You all are very lucky to have survived that." she said as I raised an eyebrow.

"All of us? You mean Elena and I." I said as she smiled slightly.

"Harry survived too. Some blown up parts of the tree got into his blood and healed" Chloe informed me as my eyes went wide.

"H-He did?" I said in surprise as she nodded.

"He told me about how you and him used to be in a relationship. The good times you two had." she said as she helped me get into a sitting position.

I wanted to go see him but him and Chloe may have feelings for each other.

"He never wanted to hurt you, he told me himself. He always meant to hurt Nate but, if anyone can make him become a better man, it's you." Chloe said as I looked up at her with a smile on my face.

"Thank you, Chloe. For everything." I told her as she chuckled.

"You're welcome. Now, you stay here. I'll go tell the others you're awake. Elena woke up ten minutes earlier and we were all worried that you wasn't gonna make it." Chloe said as I chuckled painfully.

"I'm not the kind to stay down." I told her as she laughed slightly.

"Just like your brother." Chloe commented before leaving the room.

I looked around as I recognized that we were in the same village Nate and I woke up in after we had been shot. Flynn had shot Nate but one of the goons had shot me after I had tried to pull out my gun.

"Drake?" a British accent said as it brought me out of my thoughts.

"Flynn." I said as I looked at him.

He was leaning on the door-frame in the same bloody clothes he had on when we confronted him in Shambhala. He kept his gaze to the floor as he had his arms crossed.

"You look good for a dead man." I joked lightly, trying to ease the tension.

He chuckled lightly before shrugging.

"Yeah, well. The sap may have helped but it still hurts like a bitch." he said as I nodded before I sighed.

"I saw that look you gave me when you dropped the grenade." I commented as he nodded lightly.

"It was supposed to hit Drake and that blonde chick. Elena, was it? It was never supposed to get you." Flynn said as I looked down, fiddling with my ring.

"I'm sorry." he said suddenly as my eyes shot up to him.

"What?" I asked as he sighed, slowly entering the room.

"For causing all of that to happen to you. I was in to deep." he said as I sighed.

"I forgive you, Flynn. I'm sure Nate will too. Sully...might be a different story." I said as he chuckled lightly.

"The old man and I never got along anyway." Flynn said as I smiled.

"So, are you and Chloe getting back together?" I asked while trying to sound casual.

"What? No! I mean, she liked Drake, but now he has that Elena girl, so she's probably okay going on her own way." Flynn said as I nodded awkwardly.

"I was hoping to get with someone else though." he said as I saw that smirk of his.

"Oh, really?" I asked slyly as he nodded.

"Yeah. She had always seen the good in people. Maybe she can see good in this monster." Flynn said as I smiled before shaking my head.

"You are no monster, Harry. If you're serious about changing, we'll gladly help you. There's still good in you." I said before I thought about something.

"Why didn't you Elena help you?" I asked as he sat at the foot of my bed.

"I didn't want her help, darling." he said before taking my hand into his.

"I needed yours. I still do." he said as I smiled.

"You got it, Harry." I said as I held his hand.

Just like the good ole days, eh?


	21. Lighter

I looked down at the shining lighter as I took a deep breath. I looked back to the Tibetan mountains as I rose a hand to throw the lighter over the cliff but...I couldn't do it. My hand clenched the lighter as I put my arm back down and flicked it open, watching the small flame dance.

"You asswipe." I muttered under my breath before glancing back down.

After all he did to both Nate and I, the right thing to do would be to throw it over, right?

"If so, why can't I?" I asked myself before looking back over the landscape.

"Everything alright, sweetheart?" Chloe's voice spoke up as she walked up next to me, resting her arms on the snowy, wooden fence.

"Yeah." I said distractedly, eyes focused on the lighter.

"You want it?" I asked her as I held it out to her.

"No, you keep it. He was important to you as well." Chloe told me as I glanced over at her.

"Do you miss him?" I asked her as she chuckled lightly.

"I would be lying if I said no. What about you?" she responded as I shrugged.

"Same boat." I said simply before putting the lighter in my pocket.

"Thought you left." I said with a sad smile.

"Without talking to my favorite sidekick." Chloe joked before lightly punching me in the shoulder.

We shared a small laugh before she stood up straight.

"I'm going to head out now. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything or if you just want to talk and maybe hang out." she said as I nodded.

"Alright." I said as she patted me on the shoulder before leaving.

"Hey, everything okay?" Nate shouted from a distance as I sighed.

"No." I whispered before putting on a brave face.

"Yeah! I'm good!" I called out as I started making my way to both him and Elena.

I already wasn't liking this...


	22. Christmas Tree

This will be in Natalie's P.O.V!

* * *

"Where are we going, Sully?" I asked as Nate and I got in the backseat.

We were sixteen now. It's been almost a year since Sully picked us off the streets.

"You'll see." Sully answered as I looked out the window and saw all the buildings of the small town we were currently in.

Just until we got another job offer.

"Does it have to do with work?" Nate asked as I returned my attention to Sully.

"No." Sully answered as he turned on the radio and I heard Christmas music coming from it.

We turned down a road as I saw a sign before looking to Nate.

"Is this what I think it is?" I whispered to Nate as he nodded.

"I think so." he whispered back as Sully pulled into a parking spot.

"C'mon, kids." Sully said as he got out of the car and opened the back door.

"What is this place, Sully?" I asked as we got out.

"It's a Christmas tree farm, Nat." Sully said as Nate and I looked at each other.

"A farm for Christmas trees? They do that?" Nate asked as I heard someone laughing.

"Sure do, young man. Had this business for about 30 years." A man said as he walked up to us.

"Can I help you all with anything?" the man asked as we shook our heads.

"Yes, actually. You can." Sully said as we looked up at him, a mix of confusion and shock on our faces.

"We're looking for about a six footer." Sully said as we looked at him.

"Would that even fit?" we asked as the man laughed.

"Six foot trees are all over there." the man said as Nate and I looked at each other before taking off where the man said to go.

"Kids!" Sully called out after us as I looked at them.

"Nate, the trees are real!" I told him as he nodded.

"Look at this one!" Nate said as I walked over to him and we looked up at it.

"Whoa.." we said as I heard footsteps.

"Don't run off like that!" Sully scolded lightly as we grinned innocently.

"You know how we get when we're excited Sully." I said as he looked at the tree.

"This the one you want?" he asked as we looked around, humming in thought.

"I think so." we said as the man came over.

"Very nice. Just arrived this morning." the man said as Sully nodded.

"We'll take it." Sully said as he paid the man.

"Alright, kids. Let's get this to the car." Sully said as we eventually got the tree to the car.

"Okay, now we just have to tie it to the top." Sully said as we got it up on the roof of the vehicle.

"Nate, get the rope out of the trunk and we'll tie this bad boy down." Sully said as Nate did so.

We all got into the car as I saw snowflakes land on the front window.

"It's snowing!" Nate and I said as Sully chuckled.

"How about that?" Sully asked as we were heading down the road again.

We got back to the little house Sully had as we got the tree inside and placed it up in the living room.

"Wait, how are we going to decorate it?" I asked Sully as he grinned.

"Be right back." Sully said as he disappeared down the hallway.

Where was he going?

"Better than the orphanage, huh?" Nate asked quietly as I nodded.

"Way better. Least we have a real tree. Remember that little old plastic tree at St. Francis?" I asked as he scoffed.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a 'tree'. Home was no better after Mom died." Nate said as I crossed my arms.

"If we were lucky, 'Dad' would be in a drunken stupor." I mentioned as I suddenly heard bells ringing.

"Sully?" Nate and I asked as Sully came in with two big boxes.

"Did you buy all this?" Nate asked as we helped him put the boxes down.

"Not at once. Various times when you two wouldn't notice if I was gone." Sully answered as he started pulling out all kinds of stuff.

Ornaments, garland, a tree skirt, lights, and anything else he could have found.

"Also found you two a couple stockings." Sully said as he handed them to us.

"Our names are on them!" I said as we hung them up on the wall.

We smiled as we looked at him.

"What now?" I asked as Sully held up the lights and we nodded.

We got the lights up as Sully plugged them in as the tree lit up.

"Cool.." Nate and I said as Sully slid a box over to us.

"You two go nuts. I'll be right back." Sully said as we got the hooks on the ornaments before placing them on the tree.

"Where do you think he went?" I asked my brother as he chuckled.

"With the old man? You never know." Nate said as I laughed, covering my mouth.

"What's so funny?" Sully called out from the kitchen as Nate shushed me.

"Nothing, Sully!" Nate responded as we started laughing even more.

We got the tree decorated as I picked up the star.

"Okay, who's gonna put this on top?" I asked Nate as he shrugged.

"Why can't both of us do it?" he asked as he grabbed one side of the star and I grabbed the other side.

We gently put the star on top of the tree as Nate got it plugged in. It started glowing as I grinned.

"That's what I call a Christmas tree." Sully said as he came in with two mugs.

"Is that coffee?" Nate asked as Sully laughed.

"No way, kid. You two are already enough trouble already minus the caffeine." Sully said as we playfully rolled our eyes.

"Hot chocolate." Sully said as we took the warm mugs.

"Thanks, Sully. For all of this." I said as he lit a cigar and we gave faces of disgust.

"No problem, kids. My cigars are not that bad!" Sully said as we shook our heads before going and sitting in front of the tree, sipping on our hot chocolate while Sully put on a Christmas movie.

"Do you celebrate Christmas like this every year?" I asked as Sully chuckled.

"Not until you two came charging into my life." Sully answered as we grinned before looking at the T.V.

I really hope we do this every year.


	23. Together

This will be in Chloe's POV and it will take place during my story called Promise! I don't know if this idea will continue! Let me know what you guys think!

* * *

"Okay, Chloe. It's simple! Just go in there and tell her how you feel!" I told myself as I was outside Natalie's room door.

I took a deep breath before entering the room.

"Natalie? Can we talk?" I asked as she looked at me.

"Well, we already share a room so I guess so." Natalie joked as I chuckled.

She was always cracking jokes.

"Shut up." I told her before sitting next to her on the bed.

"Alright, alright. What's up?" Natalie asked as I took a deep breath.

Here goes nothing I guess.

"Okay. We've been friends for a while now, right?" I started as Natalie nodded, waiting for me to continue.

"Well, even through everything that's happened, I began caring for you a lot. More than a friend way." I told her as Natalie just stared at me.

Why wasn't she saying anything?

"You feel that way too?" Natalie asked in a quiet voice as I looked her, nodding.

"I do." I replied as she laughed nervously.

"So,uh, are we together?" Natalie asked as I laughed at her sudden shyness.

She gave me a playful glare as I stopped laughing.

"Depends. Do you want to be together?" I asked her as she looked down at her hands.

"Yeah." Natalie said as I smiled.

"One question though." Natalie said as I nodded.

"Sure." I replied as she gave a crooked grin.

"How the hell are we gonna explain this to Nate?" Natalie asked as I laughed.

"We'll figure something out. Together." I told her as I gently grabbed her hand.

Things worked out alright after all.


	24. Reunion

This takes place after U3 but before U4 and if Natalie doesn't end up with Chloe! Thanks for reading!

"What the hell are you doing here?" I spat at my twin brother as I had half a mind to slam the door in his face.

Again.

"Nice to see you too." Nate replied as I put my weight on one foot, leaning against the door.

He didn't just show up out of the blue for nothing.

"Can I come in or are you gonna slam the door in my face again?" Nate questioned as I smiled, tilting my head to the side.

"What do you think?" I spat before reaching for the door handle but Nate put a hand on the door.

"At least let me talk." Nate said as I moved to the side, allowing him to enter.

Nate walked into my small apartment as I crossed my arms.

He slowly walked over to my desk, seeing the maps and the books.

"Natty..." Nate said as I shook my head before pointing an accusing finger at him.

"No. You don't get to call me that. Not anymore!" I told him as he put his hand on his hips.

I turned my back to him before slamming the books close and turning off the little lamp next to the papers.

"You're still upset over that? Natalie, we had to stop at some point." Nate said as I spun around on my heel, looking him right in the eyes.

"You. You said you had to quit. Not me." I told him before marching into the kitchen.

I opened the fridge before pulling out a beer and twisting the top off.

I took a quick drink as I put the bottle on the table and sitting down in a chair.

"What do you want, Nathan?" I asked him as he sat down across from me.

"Look. You haven't been the same since that incident with Marlowe." Nate said as I shook my head.

Not this again.

"I'm perfectly fine, Nate." I told him as he looked at me and I stared at him back.

"No, you're not. You've completely isolated yourself!" Nate said, his voice getting louder.

I stood up as the chair slid back.

"Who the hell could I talk to?! Huh?! You're settled down with Elena and Sully, Chloe ran of with Cutter, and Flynn's dead! This work is all I have left!" I shouted as I felt tears forming in my eyes as I forced them back.

Nate slowly stood up as I glared at him.

"So why don't you get back to your precious wife, huh?" I mocked as he ran a hand through his hair.

I picked up the bottle before pushing past him, sitting on the couch.

"Natalie, I came here to ask if you wanted to live with Elena and I. You could even get a job where I work at." Nate said as I let out a harsh laugh.

Surely he wasn't serious!

"You're out of your mind, Nate. That's what you are." I told him as I stood up, walking to the front door.

"The answer's no. Get out." I told him as he looked at me with those sad eyes of his.

Those didn't work on me. Never did.

Never will.

"Natalie, it's different without you around. Sully misses you. I miss you." Nate said as I scoffed.

"Not to different, it seems. You just randomly pop in then drop off the face of the earth again." I said as he looked at me.

He would always do this. He would randomly show up, talk for a few minutes, then disappear.

It was like a sick cycle.

"Natalie, you can't just shut yourself off. Listen, I've always been here for you. I always will. I'm your brother, for crying out loud!" Nate said as I shook my head, not believing a word he said.

Nate grabbed me by the shoulders as I stared at him.

"Just, listen. For once. I left because I'm a married man now, true. That didn't stop me from caring about my twin sister." Nate said as I got in his face.

"Then why did you chase after Elena while I laid in a bed, immobile. I almost died from that grenade, Nathan! I did die until Chloe managed to bring me back! She was there a hell of a lot more than you!" I screamed as I pointed at the door.

"Get out of my apartment! Now!" I yelled as he sighed.

"I'll call-" Nate said when I pushed him.

"Get out!" I screamed as he left the room and I slammed the door closed, locking it.

I finally allowed the tears to spill as I knocked the bottle off of the dresser, the glass shattering upon hitting the floor.

I sat on the couch before wiping my eyes.

I hated my life right about now...


	25. Talk Things Out

After Uncharted 3! Thanks for reading!

* * *

I heard my phone ringing as I looked up from my research to see it was Sully's number.

Why is he calling me?

I sighed before picking up my cell and putting it to my ear, looking back down at my book.

"Yeah?" I asked as I closed the book before getting out of my chair, running a hand through my hair.

I haven't talked to Sully since Nate and I went our separate ways. Seems like every time we saw each other we would get into an argument which usually resulted in me deciding not to fix things with my so-called brother and going back to my little apartment here.

"Hey, kid. Are you busy today?" Sully asked as I sighed, looking at my desk that was filled with my books and papers.

I never trusted technology which is why I stuck to the old ways.

"I got some research to do but I guess I took take a break. What's up?" I asked Sully before I rubbed my eyes.

I still have some nightmares from Shambhala and newer ones from Ubar but I'll live. Some things take getting used to, I suppose.

Like waking up screaming.

"Well, I'm in town so I was wanting to know if you wanted to meet me up at the diner downtown? We could catch up on some things." Sully told me as I bit my tongue to keep myself from scoffing.

"Is Nathan going to be there? If he is, I'm not coming." I said, a dead serious tone in my voice.

"No, it'll just be me." Sully told me as I tapped my fingers on the desk, a habit I've found myself doing lately.

I could refuse and just order take-out like I normally do or I could drive downtown and see Sully again. I took a deep breath before heading to my room, turning on the light.

"Alright, I'll be there in about thirty minutes." I told him as I ended the phone call before opening the closet to try and find some clothes that wasn't stained by dirt or blood.

I eventually found a plain green shirt and an old pair of jeans as I changed before putting my belt on, my watch cuff, and my old hiking boots.

The car keys were on the kitchen counter as I grabbed them before leaving the white apartment and locking the door behind me. I walked to my jeep before cranking it up and driving up the cracked road and heading out onto the highway, leaving the radio off as I had one hand on the wheel while the other was on the side of the door, my fist resting on my cheek.

I eventually made it to the diner Sully mentioned as I swore that I spotted Nathan's car but I shook it off. I mean, Nathan can't be the only man that owns that car, right?

I entered the almost empty diner just as I saw my twin enter through the other door at the other side of the diner.

"Son of a bitch." Nathan and I said as I turned on my heel to leave when I heard a voice.

"You two aren't leaving." Sully said as before I slowly turned back around, glaring at Sully.

He lied to me. Was this a set up?

"He's here. You told me he wasn't." I told him as I pointed at Nathan who was staring at him like I was.

"You told me she wasn't going to be here either." Nate said as I crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes.

I wasn't talking to him. I had nothing to say.

"Would you two just calm down for a moment? Let's just go sit down at a table before we cause a scene." Sully instructed as I walked ahead of them before sitting down at the farthest back table before Nathan sat down across from me and Sully sat to the right of us.

"Now, this thing between you two has to end. You're both acting like children." Sully scolded as I shook my head before looking at Nathan.

He was the one who decided this life wasn't good enough for him!

"Right. Since apparently leaving your so called family behind is okay nowadays." I spat as Nate scoffed, leaning forward in his chair.

"You were the one who left at the airport! Not me!" Nathan said as I leaned forward and we face to face.

"Maybe because I knew what was going to happen! I was going to get tossed to the side! Again! Where the hell were you when I was dying in Shambhala?!" I snapped as Nate was about to respond when Sully slammed his hands on the table, making us both go silent.

I sat back as Nathan and I both crossed our arms and refused to look at each other before I stood up, pushing my chair in.

"You enjoy your so-called job at that stupid shipping company. I still got some work to do at my place." I told him as I started to walk off, ignoring Sully's protests.

"Still having nightmares, huh?" Nathan asked as I stopped in my tracks before turning my head towards him.

I had mentioned that to him about maybe a month ago, right after the incident.

"What?" I asked as I fully turned around and Nate rose from his seat.

"Natalie, I'm your brother. I notice things. The dark circles, the bloodshot eyes, everything. Do you even sleep anymore?" Nathan asked as I scoffed, crossing my arms.

What does it matter to him? He certainly didn't seem concerned when I was all blown up in Tibet.

"Does it matter?" I asked as my shoulders shrugged and Nathan walked a little bit closer and I balled up a fist, keeping a close eye on him.

"Does it matter? Of course it matters! You're still my little sister." Nathan said as I rolled my eyes.

He always had to bring this back up. I placed my hands on my hips before staring at him.

"You're older by a minute and a half." I argued as he cracked a smile and I found myself doing the same.

He walked up to me before looking at me.

"So, you still mad at me?" Nathan asked as I stared at him.

"Depends. You going to make me quit?" I asked as he sighed before returning his attention to me.

I knew that look and I also knew I wouldn't like the answer.

"Natalie, how many chances of having a normal life have we wasted?" Nate asked as I chuckled, shaking my head.

I backed up as I continued to shake my head before staring at my brother.

"Your talking to someone that has nothing to lose. You sold most of my trinkets to buy that dumbass house of yours." I argued before heading out the door and back to my jeep as I heard the door swing open.

"Natalie!" Nate shouted as I ignored him, opening the driver's side door of my jeep.

I felt someone grab my arm as my eyes snapped over to see Nathan had a hold of my arm and wasn't letting go.

"Natalie, we couldn't keep doing that. I'm married and your still having problems from Ubar and maybe even Shambhala. You haven't been the same since either of those places." Nathan told me as I laughed.

"How would you know how I'm doing? Your head's to far up Elena's ass!" I screamed as I had tears in my eyes but I fought them back.

Nobody was going to see me cry!

Not even my own brother.

I fought my way out of my twin's grasp as I spotted Sully crossing the parking lot towards us.

"She won't listen to me, Sully." Nathan told him as Sully sighed before lighting up a cigar.

"Not those things." Nathan and I said as we looked at each other and I scowled at him.

Sully shut my jeep door before looking at me and I stared at him.

What could he possibly say that would change my mind about any of this?

"Listen, kid. Why don't you and Nate just attempt to spend the day together? Try and sort things out somewhere private instead of at a public diner." Sully said as I looked at both of them before glancing back at Sully.

"One day?" I asked as Sully nodded.

"One day." Sully confirmed as I pointed a finger at Nathan.

"Elena stays out of it. She has no involvement in any of this. I see her face and I swear I will leave without even saying a word to you." I promised and he nodded.

"No Elena. Got it." Nathan said as I opened my jeep door and got inside before shutting it and rolling my window down.

I sighed as I looked at my brother, one hand on the wheel.

"When and where we meeting up?" I asked as he shrugged before looking up at me.

"I could meet you at your place tomorrow and we could talk for a while. If everything goes well, we could plan to go get something to eat or something." Nate said as I nodded.

"That'll work. See you tomorrow then. Bye, Sully. Nathan." I said as Nathan looked at me.

What did he want now?

"You sure your okay?" Nathan asked as I scoffed.

"I said I'm fine so I'm fine. Okay?" I said in a defensive tone as Nathan seemed to back off some.

"Okay. See you tomorrow." Nathan said as I gave Sully a quick wave before pulling out of the parking lot and I headed back to my apartment.

Tomorrow's sure going to be interesting.


	26. Mail

"Nate, could you get the mail? I think he just passed the house." Elena asked me as I nodded, stepping outside and opening the mail box.

I pulled out all the letters before heading back inside, flipping through them as I did so.

"Junk, junk, what the hell?" I asked myself as I saw that one of our wedding invitations had been sent back to us.

The words "Return to Sender' was written in red ink on the envelope and the address was crossed out.

Wait, I knew that handwriting.

That was Natalie's address.

"What did we get?" Elena asked as I threw the letters down onto the counter minus the invitation.

"Mostly junk but look at this." I told her as she looked up from her laptop before she looked confused.

I handed it to her before heading into the kitchen and grabbed me a beer.

"Maybe Natalie moved and the new owners didn't know where she moved to?" Elena asked as I took the envelope back before shaking my head.

Natalie couldn't have moved that quick. Besides, she would tell me if she was moving.

Right?

"I'm going to find out." I told my wife as I went into the bedroom before opening my cell phone and going to the contacts tab.

I smiled slightly as I saw the contact picture of Nat was one her and I took together right before we met Talbot at the Pelican Inn.

"That was a crazy ride." I mumbled before putting the phone to my ear, hearing it ring.

Pick up the phone, Nat.

"What?" My sister's voice said over the phone as I sighed, sitting down on the bed.

"You got the invitation but sent it back, didn't you?" I confronted her as I heard a scoff from the other end of the phone.

Was she getting an attitude with me?

"What can I say? I don't like weddings." Natalie taunted as it was my turn to scoff.

Natalie was just playing stubborn. She always did this.

"Besides, I have work to do that day." My twin told me as I stood up.

She had to be kidding! My sister wasn't even showing up to my wedding?!

"Seriously? Some ruin is more important than your own brother's wedding?!" I snapped at her as it went quiet on both ends of the phone.

"Don't you throw that 'we're family' bullshit at me, Nathan! The day you met Elena is the day you stopped giving a damn about what happened to me!" Natalie argued back as I could feel my face getting red with anger.

That's when I opened my stupid mouth.

"At least I have a good job and a wife instead of being a low-life treasure hunter with nobody to go home to! Oh wait, what home do you have?!" I spat at her as I could feel myself shaking before I thought I heard a sob.

"Go to hell, Drake. Don't ever call me again." Natalie snapped in a shaky voice

I heard footsteps as I turned around to see Elena in the doorway, a shocked look on her face.

"Nate, you didn't." Elena said as I sighed.

"I did. I'm going up to the attic to do some research." I said to Elena before wordlessly leaving the room and heading up to the attic, pulling up the door behind me.

I threw myself into the rolling chair before sighing.

"Nice job, Nate. Nice job." I mocked myself as I shook my head.

I really messed up.


End file.
